


Let's Have an Old Fashioned Christmas

by smithapple



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: And everything is so fluffy, Bucky is not the Winter Solider, Christmas AU, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Extreme Christmas Decorating, Fluff, Kittens, M/M, Schmoop, Slow Burn, Steve and Bucky are both idiots, Steve didn't know Bucky before he was frozen, Steve is Captain America, Steve is back in Brooklyn, adorable idiots, christmas trees, seriously this is so fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:56:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5310221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smithapple/pseuds/smithapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers has been out of the ice for a while and is ready to move back to Brooklyn. He sets off just in time for the holidays, and is determined to recapture some of the Christmas magic he remembers from growing up. He befriends neighbors, gets overly excited about decorating, adopts a cat, plays endless Christmas song, attends parties, and develops a super solider sized crush on the guy who works at the Christmas tree lot in the neighborhood. There are only so many times you can go Christmas tree shopping without looking crazy. Steve has to figure out a way to get Bucky off the lot and under some mistletoe without making a fool of himself. Of course, just asking him out is way too simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to Brooklyn

**Author's Note:**

> Please be warned that this is the fluffiest fluff ever to fluff. I've gotten three cavities just writing it, and probably need to get my blood sugar checked. But I am a giant Christmas sap. Also, I just need Steve and Bucky to be happy and schmoopy and have a good holiday season.

Steve was glad he’d moved out of the Tower. As nice as it is to be surrounded by friends, he was looking forward to celebrating the holidays back in Brooklyn. Christmas had never been the same for him since his mother had died, but going back in the old neighborhood seemed like a good way to recapture some holiday magic. Something about being the world’s most modern skyscraper seemed impersonal come the holiday season. Steve wanted to be around Christmas lights, Chestnuts roasting on the street corner, neighbors wishing each other a Merry Christmas, and well away from the influx of tourists in Midtown. Tony and the rest of The Avengers had protested, but Steve promised he’d be back for the annual party, and most likely for Christmas morning. No matter his determination to have a good old fashion Christmas, he knew facing the day itself alone would be another matter altogether.

It took a week for him to get settled in his new brownstone. Steve had found some comfortable, practical furniture, and over the year he had spent at Stark Tower, he had accumulated a few trinkets and paintings. He even had a few new sketches of his own to hang. When he was done the overall impression was homey and warm. He had to admit to being proud of himself. Turns out not being colorblind anymore was extremely helpful when it came to interior decorating. He cringed to think what his tiny studio had looked like before the war.

Thanksgiving was celebrated in the Tower. Steve wasn’t quite ready to entertain the team in his new place. Now came the part he had really been looking forward to, and if it went as well as he hoped, maybe they could come around for holiday drinks. It was time for Steve to go shopping for Christmas decorations.

The first shop he went to was beautiful and tasteful. Steve looked around at delicate ornaments of gold and silver, admiring the craftsmanship. It just wasn’t what he was looking for.

The next stop was a garden center most of the year, and a holiday extravaganza November to January. Christmas music played over the PA, there were lights everywhere, and the tasteful decorations seemed to be cowering in one corner. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” started playing Steve laughed. He had no idea who was singing, but the song was familiar to him from before his time in the ice and seemed uncannily appropriate. A girl who looked to be about 5 years old ran by with a snowman that was singing and doing a dance. Steve grabbed a shopping cart. He had found his store.

An hour later, Steve was on the street hailing a cab. He may have overbought. His purchases were no match for his super strength, however the awkwardness of the bundles made negotiating the busy sidewalks impossible. And there was no way he was passing up the garlands that were on sale. On the ride home, Steve hummed happily to himself and watched the neighborhood go by out the window. Stopped at a light, he noticed a Christmas tree lot that was brightly lit, had fake snow blowing over the trees, and a cart selling hot chocolate. It looked absurdly festive, and he’d already decided that’s where he’d go to get his tree when he noticed a lot attendant with a megawatt smile, long brown hair, and what looked like a metal arm. Steve wasn’t sure he caught that last detail correctly, but the butterflies in his stomach as the cab moved again made him think he might just go tree shopping earlier than he’d originally planned. He had to get a better look at that guy.

The next day was unseasonably warm, which was entirely wrong for tree buying. Instead, Steve put on some old Christmas albums, opened a window, and sang along with Bing Crosby as he put the lights up outside. He hung garland, bows, and wreaths. Everything lit up. Colored lights, too, none of those plain white ones. He wrapped his door to look like a present, and made the pillars on either side of his door look like candy canes. As he stood across the street to admire his work, a neighbor came out and stood with him.

“I guess subtle and tasteful would be out of the question for from a man who wears a spangly outfit on the regular?” the older man asked.

“Too much?” Steve asked with a grin.

“Nah, wait until Mrs. Clemson gets her son over to do their lights. You’ll be back out buying more to keep up.” Steve laughed as his neighbor gave him a wave and turned to go inside. He was feeling more and more confident he’d made the right decision coming back.

In the evening, Steve took a walk around the neighborhood to see who else had taken advantage of the weather to do their lights. He thought about walking past the Christmas tree lot, but decided against it. He had been promised a break from being Captain America for the holidays, pending any threats that reached a global scale and his mind wandered as he considered the possibilities the time off would afford him. He decided to grow a beard. They seemed to be in fashion now, and he had seen an advertisement for tiny beard Christmas ornaments. The idea of showing up at the Tower with a decorated beard made him laugh so hard people on the street began to stare. He was definitely growing a beard. The team would lose their minds.

As he headed back to his house, he couldn’t help wondering if the attendant at the tree lot liked beards. Or if he ever pulled that hair of his up into one of those buns like he’d started seeing men wearing. Men had gotten as far away as Steve could imagine from the ultra clean cut looks he’d grown up with. He was not in the least disappointed in this, and wondered what the general public would think if they knew Captain America not only liked men, but was a sucker for long hair and tattoos. Chuckling to himself at the thought, he arrived home, checked the timer on the Christmas lights, and headed inside.

When he woke in the morning, Steve scrubbed a hand across his face and smiled when he realized shaving was officially off the daily agenda - at least for December. He yawned, stretched, and decided that today was as good a day as any to go get his Christmas tree. Okay, he wasn’t fooling himself, he just wanted to get down to the lot and check out Mr. Christmas Tree himself.

It wasn’t until he made his way down to the kitchen for breakfast that Steve noticed it was absolutely pouring out. “Well, shit,” he whined when he realized tree buying would be delayed. Eventually, the smell of the coffee brewing cheered him up. “Guess I’ll get the rest of the decorations up,” he said aloud. Looking around the empty room, he felt a little embarrassed he’d already taken to talking to himself. “And maybe I’ll get a cat. Always wanted a cat, and it’s not crazy if you’re talking to your pet.” With a plan in place, Steve inhaled his breakfast and the better part of a pot of coffee before tuning the radio to an all Christmas music all the time station, and unpacking the things he had bought.

When there was nothing left in the bags except things for the tree, he headed out the the store to get some cat supplies. He picked up a litter tray, food for kittens and adult cats, since he didn’t know what he’d actually end up coming home with, and an array of toys. Once he felt confident the house was sufficiently welcoming for a new cat, Steve headed to the pound to find his new roommate.

The pound was crowded with animals and Steve was having a hard time not just adopting all of them. One fat, orange cat kept his attention, though. It was gigantic and playful and had a squished face that made Steve laugh. An employee had just gotten him out of the cage and into Steve’s arms when he heard a voice from below, “Mooooooooooom! That cat looks like Crookshanks! We HAVE to get that cat! PUH-LEAAAASE!”

Steve looked down to see a little boy practically vibrating out of his skin with excitement as he pointed to the cat in his arms. He was holding hands with a younger girl who was staring wide eyed at the furball he was cradling. He had no idea who Crookshanks was, but he knew this wasn’t the cat he’d be taking home today. Bending down so the kids could get a better look and pet the animal, Steve assured their parents that if they wanted the cat, he was theirs. Once the initial squeals of delight started to subside, a new wave began when the family realized exactly who they was making their feline dreams come true. Pictures were taken, autographs signed, and paperwork filled out as the cat now formally dubbed Crookshanks was handed over to his new family.

The women who worked at the shelter had gathered at the front desk to swoon over Steve’s generosity. He was right in the middle of another round of, “Really ma’am, it was nothing. The right thing to do is all,” when he felt tiny pinpricks on his calf. He looked down and was surprised to see a black and white ball of fluff halfway up his leg. Reaching down, he plucked the kitten off his pants and presented him to the women.

“Oh my god! I am so sorry!” the woman with Terri on her name badge yelped. “I don’t know how that one keeps escaping. She’s a bit on the ornery side.”

The kitten was rolling around in Steve’s hands, trying to fight his wristwatch from different angles. It had slightly crossed blue eyes and made chirping noises as it continued its assault. There was no doubt in his mind this cat would be a total pain in the ass. Steve was completely in love with it.

As he walked home with his new companion, he held the cardboard carry box up to run names by her for approval. The kitten seemed vocally against traditional cat names, so Steve moved on free association suggestions. “Let’s see it’s Christmas time, so I could call you Merry!” The kitten actually hissed. “Okay, not Merry. Holly? Joy? Dancer? Prancer?” The box swayed in Steve’s hand as the cat moved around inside, he took this as a sign of rejection. “You better lose the attitude or I’m going to call you Ebenezer!” There was a sudden stillness in the box. Steve peeked in and saw the kitten laying on its side, casually flicking its tail. When he placed his hand under the box where she was, he could feel the vibrations from her purr. “And now I have a girl cat named Ebenezer,” he mused. He tried to act exasperated for Ebenezer’s benefit, but he was smiling like a sap down at the furball and his cover was blown. There was a reason Natasha never took him on undercover work.

The rest of the night was spent watching Ebenezer feel out her new home. Steve was relieved that she took to the litter pan right away, and spent enough time laughing at her trying to negotiate to the stairs to start to feel guilty. Once they were both fed and exhausted from their days, he scooped her up, plopper her on his shoulder and headed upstairs to bed. He tossed the kitten gently on the bed and pointed at her, “Don’t ever let it be said I’m not a total pushover.” The kitten yawned, and immediately found its way to a pillow to curl up and fall asleep. Steve knew he if he started to let her sleep with him, he’d never break her of the habit. But the fact was, she was ridiculously adorable, and he really was a pushover.

As Steve drifted off to sleep he was surprised to find both that his new kitten snored, and that he found it strangely comforting. He smiled as one last thought drifted through his mind.

“Tomorrow I’m going to buy our Christmas tree, Ebenezer.”

 


	2. Catching Up and Catching Wise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Ebenezer feel each other out. Natasha invites herself to lunch and is more observant than Steve is strictly comfortable with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After talking to some friends, I think this story is going to be as over the top fluffy and trope filled as possible. (As if it hadn't already started that way.) But go big or go home! If anyone has any favorite holiday style tropes you'd want to see included, let me know! I am way open to suggestions. Thanks for reading, and I promise Bucky is in the next chapter!

When he went to bed, Steve had happy thoughts of sleeping in and spending some time cuddling with his new cat before getting the day started. Ebenezer had a different plan and woke her new owner up predawn by standing on his chest and alternating between whapping his chin and nose. Steve cracked one eye and looked down. “Fantastic, I adopted a morning person...cat...ball of fur...whatever,” he grabbed the kitten and rolled over on his side, keeping Ebenezer pulled against his chest. She cuddled into him and purred for a solid 12 seconds before chewing on his finger. “If this is your way of telling me you’re hungry, I get it.” He got up, dropped the kitten on his shoulder, and headed downstairs to get breakfast going for both of them.

In the kitchen, Steve started the coffee before opening a can of food for the kitten. “I know you’re new here, but you need to understand coffee comes first in the morning. Non-negotiable. Especially if you’re going to wake me up with undue violence.” Ebenezer blinked at him innocently. Steve opened a can of food and gave the kitten a scratch when she hopped up on the counter to check on the progress of her breakfast. She was eating before he even finished dishing out the food, and Steve sighed as he realized he was already letting her develop a second bad habit. Shrugging, he turned to get himself something to eat. By the time his bagel was done toasting, he became very aware of a sudden silence behind him. Ebenezer was face down in her bowl of food, snoring. He had to stifle his laughter while he grabbed his phone to snap a picture, which he immediately sent to Sam and Natasha with the caption “My new roommate has appalling table manners.”

Steve grabbed a sketchbook, sat on the counter opposite the sleeping kitten, sipped his coffee and started with some quick drawings of the prone cat. He figured as long as he could hear her snoring, she didn’t need rescuing from her food bowl. It wasn’t long before his phone vibrated next to him. The text was from Natasha and was a series of emojis beginning with a cat and a heart, and then what looked like a monkey covering its eyes, a party horn, a Christmas tree, and a tiny yield sign. He lost her meaning entirely after the heart, and texted back three question marks to indicate his confusion. Natasha was inclined to emoji and text speak to begin with, but once she found out it largely baffled Steve, it became her primary form of communication when it wasn’t mission relevant.

Once he felt he had truly captured the essence of a kitten fast asleep in facedown in food, Steve gently picked Ebenezer off the counter and put her down on a couch pillow. She gave a weak meow and fell right back to sleep. Steve’s heart melted. His phone vibrated again, Nat had given up on the emojis and was calling.

“‘Morning, Nat!”

“Is that real? Did you get a cat? You’ve been on leave for a week and you’re turning into a crazy cat lady?” Steve could hear the amusement in her voice.

“That is Ebenezer, and of course she is real.”

“She?”

“Don’t judge my cat, Natasha. She picked the name herself and I respect her decision.”

“Fair enough. I’m coming over for lunch. I want to meet her and to hear how leave is going.” She hung up. Knowing there was no point trying to call back and argue, Steve headed upstairs to shower before he figured out what he food he had in the fridge.

Ebenezer woke up and was testing out her various toys when Steve came down from the shower. “Got a favorite yet?” he asked. The cat chirped at him and did a somersault with a mouse that rattled. “Really? Personally, I like the balls with the bells in them.” Ebenezer stopped her rattley mouse assault and let out a stream of meows that clearly indicated Steve had no earthly idea what he was talking about when it came to cat toys. He gave up and put on the radio.

The decorating marathon from the day before had left Steve with a tremendous amount of lights to turn on throughout the downstairs of his house. He didn’t mind. The lights were his favorite thing about Christmas decorating, so if something held still long enough it was fair game. He had been delighted to find that you could get remote controlled strings. He was not as delighted when he realized that he’d not labelled the remotes and was walking around the house juggling five trying to figure out which lit what lights when Natasha rang the doorbell. He managed to get the last strand on as he headed to the door to let her in.

Natasha gave him a rare full smile and a hug when he greeted her. He was happier than he realized he’d be to have company. As she stepped into the foyer she let out a long whistle. “Macy’s has nothing on you, Rogers.”

He beamed, “Isn’t it great?”

“It’s a look, that’s for sure,” Nat replied as she walked through to the living room. She tried her best to maintain super spy levels of nonchalance. But the sheer number of lights and decorations was too much for her. Natasha Romanov lost it. She waved a hand in front of her face as she tried to calm herself down. Laughing she said, “I’m sorry. It’s really nice. Just the music, and the lights, and you’re just so you sometimes.”

Steve knew better than to be offended. “We never really got to go all out growing up. But we always had fun going around looking at the decorations and stuff in the neighborhood. Figured I’d be the one to make other people smile this year. Plus, I like it! Christmas music is great!”

Natasha gave his arm a squeeze, “Oh, Steve. Don’t ever change.” There was a flicker of sadness in her eyes before she smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Now, I want to see this kitten and I demand food.”

As if on queue, Ebenezer trotted out from behind the couch with the toy mouse in her mouth. She dropped it at Steve’s feet, looked at Natasha and did some sort of extended trill/chirp combo that had both Steve and Nat staring at her bug eyed. “I’m not sure she likes me, Steve.”

“Honestly, I had no idea that was a noise cats could make, so your guess is as good as mine here.” He paused and watched the kitten start the ascent up his leg. “Can we not make this a thing? If you want up, just let me know,” he negotiated as he plucked her off his leg and dumped her on his shoulder. “Come on through to the kitchen, and I’ll make us some lunch.” Natasha followed him through the house, but not before she took a picture of Captain America walking around with a kitten on his shoulder and sent it to the rest of The Avengers.

Steve set about making sandwiches as they caught up. “It’s kind of weird without you around, Rogers. Stark doesn’t know who to tease. We haven’t been dispatched for anything, so I think everyone is getting stir crazy. Clint has taken to hiding in the rafters in the lab and pegging Tony and Bruce with foam arrows. How he got a Nerf gun is anyone’s guess, but you can imagine how that turns out.”

“I miss you guys, too. It’s nice having the quiet, though. Neighborhood is good. Neighbors seem really friendly. And, as you’ve seen, I have a cat now. Couldn’t have a cat at the Tower,” he smiled as he passed her a sandwich. “I’m thinking of having everyone around for drinks.”

“That would be...fun.” Natasha chewed her sandwich. “Are you sure you want Stark here? If he hasn’t shown up yet, you’re doing good. Maybe he’s like a vampire and can only come in if he’s invited. Once you have him over, you’ll never be able to get rid of him!”

“A vampire, Nat?”

“I told you, it’s been slow. I may have been reading some gothic horrors.”

“Very of the season,” Steve deadpanned.

“Not all of us can be Father Christmas...oh my god…”

“No! Do NOT start. If you start calling me that, I’ll never get rid of it!” Natasha laughed as Steve shuddered, both thinking about the nickname in Tony’s hands.

Ebenezer, feeling thoroughly ignored at this point, jumped back on the counter to demand lunch. Natasha gave her a scratch as the kitten mouthed off to Steve. “You know your cat is crossed eyed, right?”

“It’s cute.”

“And loud. How is something this small this loud?”

“It’s funny.”

“And she really shouldn’t be allowed up on the counter. You prepare food…”

“Natasha, I don’t tell you how to raise Barton. Don’t tell me how to raise my cat.”

That earned him another eyebrow raise. She bent down to be face to face with Ebenezer, “Your owner is a bit touchy, huh?” Steve gave her a look signaling his total lack of amusement, but picked up the kitten to put her on the floor with her lunch anyway. She was vocal in her agitation of being displaced, but the lure of food won out in the end. “So how is it Father Christmas doesn’t have a tree yet?”

Steve ignored the new moniker, knowing it was no use fighting it. “I’ll have you know, it’s on the list for today. There’s a lot down the street that looks…” he felt a blush creeping onto his cheeks, “nice.” Quickly, he grabbed their lunch dishes and turned towards the sink before his friend caught wise. Natasha would figure out there was more to that statement in a heartbeat.

The way she said, “Nice, huh? That’s...nice,” gave Steve the feeling she already had. He turned back around in the most nonchalant manner he could muster. “Want me to come with you?” she added.

Steve bobbled the plate he was drying. “No! No thank you. I can handle it. Just a tree after all.” He forced a laugh to prove just how not big a deal it was. He sounded completely unhinged.

Natasha stopped bothering trying to hide her smirk. She knew she’d caught him up to something. She also knew if she bided her time, the reason the country’s most trusted icon was acting cagey would come to light. “Which lot is it, again?”

The thought of Natasha showing up before Steve even got a chance to see the attendant up close made him panic. “No lot inparticular. Just in the neighborhood. They all seem nice. Lots of tree choices. Options are always good,” he babbled.

“Okay, then. I’ll let you get to it. It was good to see you. Your cat is ridiculous.”

“She’s not ridiculous. She’s just got a distinct personality.” He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as the walked to the door. “Good to see you, too Nat. I’ll let you guys know about the drinks thing.”

“Looking forward to it. And to seeing your tree,” she called as she headed out.

Steve sighed and rubbed his face. “There’s no way she could know, right Ebby?” The kitten stared at him, made a huffing sound, and turned her back. “So no nicknames, got it.” He headed back into the kitchen, Ebenezer attacking his heels as he walked, and cleaned up from lunch. That done, he went upstairs to brush his teeth. If changed out of a pair of worn out khakis for a pair of tighter fitting jeans before he headed to the Christmas tree lot, that was simply because going out in public was different than hanging out at home with a friend.

Downstairs, he grabbed his brown leather jacket and a red scarf. “Too much?” he asked Ebenezer as he tied it around his neck. The kitten did a flailing roll onto her back that he took to mean, “Not at all Steve, I think it’s rather dashing.” He headed out the door, thrilled to find the temperature had dropped into an appropriate tree buying range and it had started to snow. 


	3. Tree Buying Round One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally makes it to the lot and meets Bucky. They are both idiots.

Steve walked down the street humming his own Christmas medley. As much as he generally avoided the cold since he woke up from the ice, he found that snow during the holidays did not count. Talk to him again in the middle of January and he’d feel differently. Right now, on his way to get his Christmas tree, flurries seemed the only appropriate weather. He dodged a few overly excited kids as they ran down the sidewalk speculating wildly about the potential for school closing amounts of snow. He laughed at their enthusiasm and decided that if they do get a good storm this year, he’s building a snowman. His various childhood ailments and lack of decent winter clothes kept him inside when he was young. His time in the alps during the war hadn’t been conducive to snow related frivolity. The tree lot came into view as he was weighing the pros and cons of an Avengers snowball fight.

His nerves were beginning to get the best of him as he approached the makeshift evergreen forest. The very idea of being able to chat up the lot attendant he had seen suddenly seemed ridiculous to Steve. He’d never chatted up anyone in his life. He froze in place at the entrance to the lot. Another group of children blew past him, this time shouting about going sledding. Standing on the edge of the rows of trees, Steve was struck with an idea idea that was so absurd he began chuckling to himself. He couldn’t shake the visual that had popped into his head and began to laugh harder. It wasn’t long before he was bent over, near hysterical.

“You okay there, Cap?” a voice asked from above. Steve had his hands on his knees bracing himself and thought, _Of all the times to be recognized._ He tried to get his act together and straighten up. When he returned to an upright position, he found himself face to face with the very Christmas tree salesman he was definitely not low key stalking. It was too much, he began to howl with laughter and doubled back over.

The attendant began to laugh with him. He had no clue what they were actually laughing at, but seeing an honest to god superhero in the throes of a laughing fit was enough to get anyone going. “Anything you want to share, bud?”

Steve looked up and shook his head. “It’s just...I think...oh god,” he wheezed. He calmed himself enough to stand up straight and said, “If we get enough snow I think I’m gonna use the shield as a sled.” The image of flying down hill in full Cap uniform while riding his shield hit him again and he almost choked trying not to crack up again. He began to regain his composure as the attendant stared at him. Steve’s brain immediately began to bombard him with negative thoughts of what an ass he’d just made of himself when a bark of laughter erupted from the other man.

“That’s insane. And genius. Do you think it would go super fast like Chevy Chase’s in Christmas Vacation?”

“Couldn’t tell you. Haven’t seen it. But I bet Stark could soup it up.” He offered his hand, “Steve Rogers.”

“Yeah, I know. Bucky Barnes.” They shook hands as they both tried to calm themselves from their laughing bout. “I gotta ask though, you’ve been out of the ice for what, 18 months? What the hell have you been doing with yourself if you’ve not seen National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation?” Bucky asked with a sly grin.

“Eh, you know, the usual. Fighting aliens, taking down corrupt government organizations, that sort of thing.” Steve was thankful he was already beet red from laughing, it hid his blushing as he attempted to flirt.

“That’s the weakest excuse I’ve ever heard,” Bucky retorted. “I mean, I took down a ring of black market tree flockers just last week and I still managed to get a viewing in. You gotta learn to manage your time better, Cap.” Bucky’s grin hit Steve like a ton of bricks. He was sure the serum was the only thing that kept his knees from giving out. _Sometimes being a science experiment has its advantages,_ he thought sardonically.

Bucky Barnes, it turned out, was the single most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen. The fact that Bucky had recognized him, but wasn’t fawning, had his stomach doing flips. There was absolutely no way he was making it through this transaction without developing a debilitating crush on the man, and making a fool of himself in the process. “Right, so,” he started awkwardly, “I’m here for a Christmas tree.” Bucky raised an eyebrow at him and gave a tiny, crooked smile. _Ohgodohgodohgod get it together Rogers_ , Steve thought. “Think you can help me with that, Buck?”

“Did you just say Buck?”

Steve paused as the last few seconds caught up to him. “Did you just say ‘black market tree flocking?!’”

Bucky laughed, “Yeah, I’ll tell you all about it while we find you a tree...Stevie.”

Steve stood in place and stared, a disbelieving smile slowing appearing. It was rare that people he met treated him like a regular person right away. Sometimes it never happened. If he were honest, the only person who had immediately done so was Sam, and now he was his best friend. As handsome as Sam was, he didn’t give Steve palpitations just by smiling at him. Despite his ulterior motives in coming to that particular tree lot, a sliver of hope formed in him. _Maybe worst case scenario I walk away with another friend I can be normal around...if I manage to retain any dignity around this guy._

Bucky led Steve down the first row of trees. “Got any sort of specific tree you’re looking for?”

Steve looked around. Snow was beginning to stick to some of the branches. To him they all looked perfect. He wished he had a sketch pad with him. _Like I’d draw any trees with Bucky a foot away from me_. He gave his head a slight shake to rid himself of the extremely distracting thought of sketching Bucky. “I’m not sure. I like a nice full tree. Kinda on the fat side, but definitely still Christmas tree shaped,” Steve began to ramble.

“You may be out of luck. We only sell square trees here.” Bucky watched as Steve turned bright red and instantly regretted his teasing. “Sorry. Just kidding. I know what you mean. Some of them look more like bushes than Christmas trees.” He watched Steve’s grateful smile and thought, _Okay so Captain America is adorable_. He shocked himself when he began to think of other ways he’d like to make Steve blush.

“Right, that’s what I meant! And I don’t like them all scraggly. Charlie Brown is a much more accepting man than me.”

Bucky laughed. “If there’s one thing you hear about Captain America it’s what a fussy jerk he is. Isn’t Charlie Brown a bit after your time?”

“I caught that one! Ebenezer and I watched it while we were settling in for the night!”

“Who the hell is Ebenezer?”

“My kitten,” Steve answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“You named your cat Ebenezer?” _Abso-fucking-loutely adorable._

“Really she picked it.” Steve walked around a tree to hide from Bucky. After Natasha, he could anticipate the next question.

It didn’t come. Instead Bucky reiterated his accumulated Cap knowledge. “You have a girl cat named Ebenezer. You have seen Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special, but not Christmas Vacation. And you are going sledding on your shield. I’m sort of feelin’ like the media leaves out the more interesting fact about you.”

Steve came around the tree silently cursing himself for being so fair. He knew he was blushing again. “You have no idea.” He managed a smile that he hoped was more roguishly charming than creepy and idiotic. When Bucky smiled back at him, he mentally high fived himself.

“Gotta say I wouldn’t mind learning more about the man behind the stars and stripes. He seems fascinating.” There was a shift in Bucky’s grin that sent a shiver down Steve’s spine. He realized at that moment he’d never been roguishly charming in his life. Bucky, however, seemed to have the market cornered.

“Let’s see. Just moved back to Brooklyn and have decided I am going to have an old fashioned Christmas.” He glanced up at Bucky who was very obviously about to say something. Steve cut him off, “If you make the ‘old fashioned’ joke I know you’re dying to make, I will take my tree buying business elsewhere.” Bucky raised his hands to indicate he would never dream of such a thing. Steve chuckled and continued, “I enjoy long walks on the beach, prefer sunrises to sunsets, I like trying new foods since it seems I am now allergy free, and spend my free time catching up on pop culture so strangers trying to sell me things don’t give me a hard time.”

“Wow. Okay. You forgot to add ‘I excel at being a smartass’ to your profile there, Stevie.” Bucky shook his head, and turned to pull a tree out of the line to show Steve. He took longer than was strictly necessary so Steve wouldn’t see the goofy grin he had on his face. _Did he just flirt with me?! Is Steve Rogers FLIRTING?!_ he allowed himself to wonder.

Bucky gave the tree a few bangs on the ground to shake of the snow that was beginning to accumulate. “Douglas fir. Traditional, sturdy. Christmas tree shaped. The spruce trees smell the best, but can be kind of sparse. Whadya think?”

The tree as exactly what he was looking for. He knew it, Bucky knew it. He took his time walking around it anyway. Steve was reluctant to be finished so quickly. He used his time evaluating the tree to surreptitiously look at Bucky. His hair was back in a bun, causing Steve’s fingers to twitch with the desire to pull it out of its rubber band and play with it. He seemed underdressed for the cold, but Steve figured working outside all day you built up a tolerance. Even the gloves he had on seemed more for protection as he moved the trees around than to keep him warm. Steve very badly wanted to get him a scarf. He noticed Bucky was chewing his bottom lip and looking down at his boots as Steve continued his charade of assessing the tree. That’s when he noticed the snowflakes that had caught on Bucky’s eyelashes. Steve sucked in a breath as his insides turned to jelly. Bucky in the snow was captivating.

Sensing that Steve had stilled, Bucky looked up, “Like this one, pal?”

Steve exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Um, yeah. It’s perfect, really. You’ve got a good eye.”

“You spend this much time around trees, you get a sense for what people want. I can pretty much predict exactly the type of tree a person will like as soon as they walk on the lot.”

The tension caused by the previous prolonged silence broke. Steve felt much more comfortable now that they were back in banter mode. This he could handle. “Then why’d you have to ask me?”

Bucky gave him a little frown, conceding Steve had a point. “Well, the average customer isn’t a hysterical super soldier. Thought I’d better not take the chance making assumptions.”

“Good point. You’d probably be wrong about most assumptions you made about me anyway,” Steve said before he could catch himself. He had meant it to sound flirtatious, but was afraid it came out as challenging.

“Is that so?” Bucky picked up the tree and gave a nod to the area where it would be wrapped and paid for. He continued as they walked, “You’re probably right, though. For instance, I never would have assumed Captain America was such a punk.”

Steve threw his head back and laughed. No matter how he had come off sounding, that was not the reaction he was expecting. As he regrouped he sighed and thought about how irrevocably he could fall for Bucky. It was enough to almost spur him into action. Almost. But Bucky had made a good point, he was a punk, he always had been. So rather than ask Bucky if he could get his number or if he’d like to have coffee sometime, Steve said, “Yeah well I never would have assumed I’d be buying my Christmas tree from such a jerk.” Bucky gave a smile and a shrug that said, “Fair enough”.

It didn’t take nearly enough time to wrap the tree in its netting and to settle the bill. Bucky found himself stalling for time. “Need me to get one of the boys to deliver this thing? Or can I help you strap it to you car?

Steve picked up the tree and threw it over his shoulder like it was nothing, “Nah, I got it. I’m not even a mile from here.” Bucky gaped at him for a moment.

“Right. Sure...silly me thinking Captain America can’t handle a Christmas tree for a few blocks.” He toed at the ground awkwardly, afraid that if he looked up Steve would be able to tell his little show off move totally worked and turn him on. His brain screamed at him to do something, anything to make sure he’d see Steve again. Instead, he kick a rock he’d knocked loose.

In his rush to impress Bucky, Steve realized he’d put himself in a position where he more or less had to leave immediately. Standing around chatting with a tree on your shoulder was absurd. He thought about putting it back down, but thought he’d really seem ridiculous then. A familiar awkwardness came back to him. He was so bad at this. “Um, so...Merry Christmas, Bucky,” he managed lamely.

Bucky looked up at him, dazzling smile back in place. “Merry Christmas, Stevie.”

Unable to think of an excuse to stall further, Steve turned an walked off the lot. He gave Bucky a small wave with his free hand before heading down the sidewalk. His entire walk home he switched back and forth between berating himself for not asking for his number at the very least, and wondering if maybe there wasn’t a hint of disappointment in Bucky’s eyes as they said their goodbyes.

Steve was greeted by a very angry kitten when he got home. “Yeah, yeah. Let me put this down and I’ll get you some food,” he grumbled at Ebenezer.

Once she was fed, the cat was much more agreeable to keeping Steve company as he set up and decorated the tree. Christmas music played in the background and Steve sang along as he carefully placed the last few strands of tinsel. Ebenezer meowed her approval.

“The thing is...I really liked him.” He looked down at the kitten who was much more enthralled with some stray tinsel than Steve’s love life. “Let me know if you have any good excuses for going back there.” Ebenezer gave him a hard look. “I know, I’m an idiot.” He picked her up and put her back on her perch on his shoulder. They headed up for what ended up being a restless night for both of them - Steve because he kept replaying his conversation and subsequent missed opportunities with Bucky over and over again in his head; Ebenezer because she’d managed to carry a piece of tinsel with her upstairs and no plans of ending her play for something as trivial as sleep. Steve was too restless to care and figured one of them might as well be having some fun in bed. It was a long night.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on [Tumblr](http://secret-blog-of-secrets.tumblr.com/) Feel free to say hi!


	4. O Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is gifted the excuse he was looking for to go back to the lot. Steve and Bucky are still idiots, but have moments of sincerity, and are rather chatty. Ebenezer is a menace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had absolutely no intention of writing more today. But I was running errands and a few ideas popped into my head. Next thing you know, Chapter 4 is finished. Whoops. See end of chapter notes for the shocking revelation of what idea demanded such immediate attention.

After a night of little sleep and lots of tossing and turning, Steve woke up feeling grumpy. The kitten was curled up against him snoring, which he normally found adorable. Instead, his lousy mood made him resentful. He poked her awake, “Get up furball. I’m going for a run, so if you want breakfast before I’m back now’s your chance.” The cat let out a string of what Steve was quickly learning to be feline expletives. “Don’t give me that. You woke me up yesterday. Payback’s a bitch.” She continued to give him a piece of her mind as she rode on his shoulder down to the kitchen. “Keep it up and see if I carry you on the stairs anymore.” He plopped her down on the counter as he made coffee and prepared her breakfast. Sensing his mood, the kitten watched quietly and waited until the food was entirely in her bowl before she started eating. He gave her a scratch, got a cup of coffee, and headed into the living room.

In the corner of the room stood the Christmas tree. Despite his failure with Bucky, he had to smile. He had done a hell of a job decorating it. He grabbed his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Natasha with the caption “Father Christmas got his tree.”

By the time he was dressed and tying his running shoes, she had texted back:  I can’t even make fun of you. That’s actually gorgeous. How’d it go with the guy who works there?

Steve’s eyebrows creased. _How the hell?_.... He sent a message back: Do I even want to know how you know that?

He didn’t have to wait long for his answer: I took a walk past the lot down the street from you on my way home yesterday. You were acting suspicious. You also have a type. It’s the guy with the long hair and Fuck Me eyes, right?

“Oh my god,” he groaned as he replied: NATASHA!!!! He pressed send but immediately starting typing again: Yes. But what exactly is my type that I’m so obvious? He went back to the kitchen to find Ebenezer asleep on the counter again. “At least you missed the bowl this time,” he sighed as he cleaned around her.

The snow from the previous day never stuck, but the temperature had plunged overnight. His phone beeped as he pulled on a hat. As always, Natasha was not one to mince words: You like pretty brunettes. He’s the only one who fit the bill.

“Well, you’re not wrong, Nat,” Steve mumbled as he texted: Point. But I blew it big time. Off for a run to blow off crushing disappointment. Talk later.

His phone beeped again, surprising him. That was too fast, even for Natasha. It was Tony’s name on the screen: I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR LESS THAN A WEEK AND YOU GET A CAT?! YOU HAVE TO MOVE BACK HERE IMMEDIATELY - IT’S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.  

Steve rolled his eyes, plugged his earbuds in, and shoved the phone in the pocket of his hoodie. Tony could wait for his reply.

The run did wonders for his mood. He slowed to a walk as he approached his house and scrolled through a few more messages from Tony questioning his mental health, an invite to meet Sam for a drink later, and a series of cat memes from Clint. He obviously had heard the news as well. Tony got ignored, Sam’s offer was accepted for that evening, Clint got an emoji of a laughing cat Steve hadn’t previously realized was even an option.

Steve called to the kitten as he entered the house. Ebenezer was suspiciously quiet. He called again as he entered the living room, but immediately saw the reason behind the silence. His beautiful, meticulously decorated tree was lying down on its side. Ornaments were scattered through the room, there was tinsel everywhere. In the middle of it all sat Ebenezer, chewing on a piece of tinsel and staring up at him with big, crossed eyes. Steve was in shock. He raised his phone and took a picture of the wreckage before what he was seeing caught up to him.

“EBENEZER!” he bellowed, snatching up the kitten and carrying her into the mud room off the kitchen. “You stay in here while I clean up. You’re a very bad cat!” The kitten mewled weakly as he shut the door on her. Steve leaned against a counter and took some deep breaths. He grabbed a trash bag and went to clean up the mess.

It didn’t take as long as he expected to gather the ornaments and get the tree righted. Once that was done, Steve stood back to asses the damage. There hadn’t been as many broken ornaments as he feared, however the tinsel was an absolute mess. All of his work artfully arranging each strand was left tangled and clumped. He started trying to pick it off the tree, but quickly gave it up as useless. Sighing, he sat heavily on the couch feeling defeated. There was no way he’d be able to salvage the tree. Ebenezer began to really screech from the mud room. “How are you even that loud?” Steve yelled back. “Be quiet and get used to that room. You ruined Christmas, hey….” he trailed off. An idea occurred to him that left him grinning from ear to ear.

He pulled out his phone and texted Natasha: Guess who has a demon cat and a second chance with hot tree guy?

He attached the picture as way of explanation and went to spring Ebenezer from her prison. “I have to get a new tree thanks to you. And this one will have NO tinsel on it. So you better behave, fuzzbutt, or I’m abandoning you on Tony’s floor of the Tower.” The kitten meowed pitifully as if she understood the direness of the threat.

Steve got a shower, spent more time than he cared to admit getting dressed, and hauled the wrecked tree out to the curb. He was more bundled up this time as he walked to the lot, and found himself hoping Bucky was dressed warmer today. _Well, I’ll find out soon enough_ , he smiled as he thought.

Bucky came out onto the tree lot just as Steve reached it. They stopped in front of each other, both surprised by the other’s appearance. Bucky managed to speak first, “Steve! Hi! How’s the tree?”

Steve laughed, “Funny you should ask. Remember that kitten I told you about?” Bucky nodded that he did. “Well, she’s well named it seems. Turns out she hates Christmas.” He pulled out his phone and opened the picture for Bucky to see.

Bucky snorted and quickly covered his mouth with a hand. “Oh my god, I’m sorry, Stevie. That’s a mess.” He was shaking from the effort of not laughing at the man’s misfortune.

“Tell me about it. Did you ever try to pick tinsel off a Christmas tree?”

“As your resident Christmas tree expert, I could have told you before you even started trying that would be a lost cause. How the hell did something that tiny take down an entire tree?”

“No idea. Maybe HYDRA had been experimenting on domestic animals and I wound up with one that got loose.”

“Maybe she’s a spy!”

“Great, I have an assassin kitten,” Steve moaned.

“I’m sorry to laugh,” Bucky said, not seeming the least bit remorseful. “But, honestly, kittens and Christmas trees are notorious arch enemies.”

“Mine seems to have more of a vendetta against tinsel than the actual tree. Next one I’m skipping that part.”

It dawned on Bucky that Steve hadn’t happened to be passing when they ran into each other. “Wait. You’re back for a second tree? Damn it. I’m on break.”

Steve had a hard time not reacting with unadulterated joy at the fact Bucky seemed genuinely disappointed to be off the clock. “If you don’t mind, I can wait until you’re back. You are the resident tree expert, after all.”

The grin that melted Steve’s heart (and knees) was back. “I was just gonna get a hot dog and some hot chocolate from the cart if you want to join me.”

“That is an absolutely disgusting combination and I would be happy to join you,” Steve smiled back. This time it was Bucky who blushed. _Rogers 1, Barnes 0_ , Steve thought. _You’re a fucking idiot Rogers_ , was the follow up thought.

They ordered their lunch and sat on a nearby bench. They both had taken off their gloves to negotiate the hot dogs, which is when Steve noticed Bucky’s left hand. He hadn’t been wrong the first day he’d rode past the lot - it was metal. Bucky caught him looking and raised his hand so Steve could see it better. “Kinda freaky, isn’t it?” he asked with more bravado than he felt.

Since it was on display, Steve didn’t bother to hide his fascination. “Bucky, I am so sorry you went through whatever it is you went through,” he paused, unsure if he should continue. Bucky didn’t seem to be put off by his staring, so he finished his thought, “But that is actually really, really beautiful.” He had to stop himself from reaching out to touch. Bucky’s sudden, loud laughter snapped him out of his reverie.

“Welp, that’s a first!” Bucky lowered his hand and picked his hot dog back up. “You’re a very strange man, Steve Rogers.”

Steve knew he was an alarming red color. There was nothing he could do to hide at that point so he shrugged, “It’s the artist in me, what can I say?” This set Bucky off again.

“Oooh, draw me like one of your French girls, Stevie,” he said gasping for breathe. The shocked look on Steve’s face just made him laugh harder. “It’s from…”

“Titanic. I managed to see that one,” Steve interrupted. He tried his best to look sternly at Bucky, but the attempt just threw Bucky further into hysterics. Steve shook his head before giving in and laughing with him.

Once they had both settled down, they ate their ho tdogs in companionable silence. When they were finished, Bucky gave Steve a small smile. “It was an accident at work years ago. I got lucky one of our customers took pity on me and hooked me up with this prosthetic. Friend of yours, actually.”

“Wait a second - you sold Christmas trees to Tony Stark, someone how got hurt in the process, and he built you an arm?” Steve’s voice sounded slightly incredulous, like he wasn’t quite able to believe what he was hearing.

Bucky laughed, “Not quite. My brother-in-law and I own a landscaping company, we run the tree lots for the holiday. We do work for Tony at his place in the Hamptons. Was on a job at someone else’s house when I fell off a roof I had no business being on trying to pull some vines out of a gutter. Landed weird, had a compound break of the humerus bone that came right through my skin. Doctors tried to set it, but it got infected. They tried their best, but couldn’t save my arm. The infection was too bad.” Steve was awed by Bucky’s matter-of-fact retelling of the accident. “Had a really bad year. Not going to bother sugar coating it. I wasn’t handling losing the arm wall. At all. Tony heard about what happened and decided he could do something about it. New arm is incredible, even if it does attract a lot of attention,” he finished. There was a sad acceptance in his eyes.

Steve was having a hard time not reaching out and hugging Bucky. Instead he tried to lighten to mood, “Tony Stark is by far the nicest dickhead I have ever met.” It turned out to be exactly the right thing to say - he had Bucky laughing again.

“Jesus, Cap! If the general public knew about the mouth you had on ya!” Steve grinned proudly in response. “Honestly, though. I am incredibly grateful to Tony. I never would have been able to get back to work and out in the world if it weren’t for him. Plus, thanks to him, Captain America thinks I’m beautiful!”

“Captain America thinks your arm is beautiful, jerk.” Steve was desperately afraid his blush was giving away his thoughts, which were running along the lines of _Yes! Oh god, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life!_ He knew he’d been caught though, Bucky had a decidedly wolfish grin on his face.

He cut Steve a break, “So. Now you know my story. I want more Shocking Facts of the Real Steve Rogers.”

Steve’s mouth twisted as he tried to think of a response that would seem personal enough after Bucky’s honesty. “Hm. I’m not nearly as terrified of new technology as people like to make out I am. But sometimes I get really overwhelmed by it all - the constant communication and noise. The world used to be a much quieter place, even in New York. I haven’t been very good at relaxing since I woke up, which is why I’m trying this leave thing for the holidays.”

“Sounds like you need it. It becomes hard to unplug these days, but sometimes you gotta.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Steve agreed. “I’m going to go tech free for a couple days soon, I think. Try to recenter myself a bit.” Bucky reached out and gave Steve’s forearm a squeeze. The gesture seemed to surprise both of them. “Other than that,” Steve sputtered, “um...I know all the moves to the Single Ladies dance.” He nodded very seriously to punctuate his statement.

Bucky blinked at him for several seconds. “You’re a goddamn liar, Stevie.”

“How do you know? I could very well know the Single Ladies dance,” Steve replied with his jaw set.

“Get up and prove it, then. Do the dance right here, I’ll pull the song up on my phone.”

Steve stood and Bucky’s eyes almost fell out his head. _Holy fuck, if he actually does this I’m going to have to marry him. I will drag him to the nearest justice of the peace and marry his patriotic ass right now_. Steve stretched his arms above his head, and rolled his neck to loosen it up. Bucky started fumbling with his phone in complete disbelief of what was about to happen.

“Nah,” Steve said with a smirk. “Can’t do it out on the street. Would end up on the Twitter.”

Bucky didn’t bother hiding his disappointment, “That’s a bullshit excuse and you know it. And don’t say ‘the’ Twitter, it makes you sound your age.”

“Ouch, Barnes! Didn’t your mother teach you to respect your elders.” Steve reached out his hand to Bucky, “Come on. Get up, you have to find me another perfect tree.”

Bucky let Steve pull him up with more force than was strictly necessary. They ended up nearly nose to nose. When he realized they were staring at each other, more or less holding hands, Bucky said softly. “Um, let me just grab our trash and we’ll go get you that tree,” before turning away. He needed a moment to collect himself, not realizing Steve was having the same problem he was having getting his breathing under control.

Back on the lot, Bucky found a second beautiful Douglas Fir for Steve to take home. This time, Steve was ready. He was going to ask Bucky to join he and Sam for drinks later. That seemed safe! It was casual, Sam would be there making it not a date; it would be a good chance to feel each other out some more. As soon as they go the tree to the bailer, one of the other lot attendants ran up, “Sorry, Bucky. But they need you over by the Balsams. Some guy is giving Carlos a hard time about the price and getting kind of ugly about it.”

“Shit. Yeah, be right there,” Bucky turned to Steve and rolled his eyes. “Duty calls. Sorry to run off. Good to see you again, Stevie...ya punk.” That quickly he was off. Steve figured there was no way he could wait around without coming off as a creep, so he paid for his tree and left.

On his way home he stopped, but the tree down, pulled out his phone and sent a text: Hey Tony, I appreciate your concern, but am going to stay in Brooklyn. Thanks for being you, though.

Sitting in his dining room in Avengers Tower, Tony Stark stared at his phone for a full minute before saying, “Pep, see if you can get Cap in here for a physical. There’s something horribly wrong with him and we need to make sure it’s not terminal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was totally the Single Ladies bit. There is something wrong with me. 
> 
> Also, I'm on [Tumblr](http://secret-blog-of-secrets.tumblr.com/) Go ahead and yell at me there for this one.


	5. Drinks and Disasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has a plan. Ebenezer has a different plan. Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets a bit wistfully sad in this chapter. This is as close to angst as you'll be getting, folks.

Steve arrived home to find Ebenezer asleep flat on her back in a patch of sun coming in through a living room window. He found himself trying to be as quiet as possible before realizing that the kitten was going to have to move anyway so he could set up the tree. Unimpressed with the racket being made, the cat meowed at him once before curling into a tiny ball. He got the tree in the stand, put some fresh water in, and slid a hand under Ebenezer to move her out of the way before he cut the netting off the tree. As soon as she was in his hand, she began to pur. Steve sighed and smiled fondly at her. Acknowledging to himself that he was a complete sucker, he sat on the couch, placing the sleeping kitten gently in his lap. Very carefully, he fished his phone out of his pocket and called Sam.

“Hey, man. We still on for tonight?” Sam asked when he picked up.

“Definitely. Want me to meet you at that place on 35th?”

“Nah, man. Got a new place to try. You’ll like it, it’s a speakeasy that just opened up.” Steve had an idea where Sam was going with this and waited patiently for the punch line. “I’ll let you wax nostalgic about Christmases of yesteryear and everything.” His quest to have a good, old fashioned Christmas had quickly become the new source of age related jokes amongst The Avengers. Sam was normally above that particular brand of teasing, but sometimes even he couldn’t help himself.

“First of all, how can you have a new speakeasy? Alcohol is perfectly legal. That makes what you’re talking about a theme bar. How’d you hear about this place? Someone hand you a flier about it in Times Square?”

“Damn, Cap. Being back in Brooklyn brings out the attitude in you. No wonder you were always getting into fights back in the day.”

“Which brings me to my second point,” Steve continued. He could hear chuckling. It was good talking to Sam. Out of everyone he’d met since coming to in a different century, Sam was the person he could kid around and be himself with the most. Fighting the notion that Captain America was always stoic and virtuous had been a losing battle. Even the rest of the team still had moments of being taken aback if he joined in the teasing banter that was always flying around. And strangers? Forget it. They tended to be so deferential, Steve was afraid he’d cause heart attacks if he dropped the Cap persona. Well, not Bucky, he thought with a smile.

Sam sensed he had lost Steve. “You gonna get to your second point? Or do I have to guess?”

“Right,” Steve started. His mind had drifted further into Bucky related thoughts than he realized. “Prohibition. It ended when I was 15, Sam. I hadn’t been running around illegal gin joints when I was a kid. So you can shove your speakeasy induced nostalgia….” he didn’t bother finishing, Sam was laughing too hard to hear him anyway.

“For a big guy, you can be a little shit, Steve. Meet at 7 at Jack’s?”

“Sounds good, Sam. See you then.”

Ebenezer continued to snore on his lap, so he used the time to text Natasha back and let her know that, once again, he had failed to get Bucky’s number. She responded by letting him know he was a mess.

Eventually, Steve realized that the kitten would sleep for hours if he let her. She woke as he picked her up, clinging to his jeans like velcro as he moved her to the cushion next to him. Her displeasure at being disturbed was vocalized at length. “Tough. Some of us have things to do today.” The cat gave him a look that made clear exactly how unimpressed with him she was, and then promptly fell back to sleep.

The rest of the afternoon Steve spent working on the tree, skipping the tinsel this time. The entire process took longer than it probably should have, but he had gotten distracted changing Christmas records and feeding the cat. By the time he was finished, it was time to go.

Sam beat Steve to the bar and already had an inconspicuous table towards the back for them. It was a long, narrow place. If Steve sat at tables near the rear with his back to the door, very few people would walk past. The lessened chance of being recognized was something for which he was always grateful.

Drinks procured, Sam immediately declared he wanted to hear all about the mystery man at the tree lot. Natasha has a big mouth for a super spy, Steve thought as he pulled out his phone in an attempt to distract Sam with cat pictures.

“Yeah, whatever, man. It’s adorable. But we’re sitting here until you spill.”

Steve’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He knew Sam well enough to bother trying to dodge the subject anymore.

“Fine,” he huffed. “His name’s Bucky. He owns a landscaping company with his brother-in-law and they do the tree lots in the off season. He’s funny and, frankly, beautiful. It’s weird. I barely know him, but I feel like I can be myself around him. You know, when I’m not being weird and awkward around him.” Sam gave a sympathetic smile, but remained quiet to encourage Steve to continue. “I mean, he knows who I am, but doesn’t seem to care. It’s nice.” Steve paused, lost in a thought.

“Everyone’s always seen me as something. Now it’s Captain America. Before Project Rebirth, I was a sick weakling everyone thought they could push around - if they noticed me at all. It’s like there have only been three people who have ever seen past all that. Peggy, who may always be the only woman I love. You, and you’re my best friend. And now there’s Bucky. Except I can’t even get his phone number…” he trailed off.

The faraway look in his eye worried Sam. There was no way for anyone to relate to what Steve had gone through. He was glad he felt like he could open up to him, but this evening was supposed to be fun and he hated seeing Steve’s mood darken. “Dude. Did you just say I’m Captain America’s best friend?”

A tiny smile flitted across Steve’s face. “No. I said you’re Steve Rogers best friend. Captain America thinks you’re kind of an ass.”

Sam barked with laughter, “There he is!” Steve shook his head and headed to the bar to get them another round. As soon as he was back at the table, Sam said, “I’ve got a plan on how to get you back to the tree lot with a legit excuse.”

Ten o’clock the next morning, Sam knocked on Steve’s door. “Hey, come on in. I’m almost ready. Plus, you have to meet the cat.” Sam followed him into the house. He got the full tour of Steve’s new place, stopping to admire the tree and play with Ebenezer, who had followed them closely the entire time.

When they were back in the foyer, the kitten complained loudly as Steve put on his coat. “Don’t think she wants you leaving her, Steve,” Sam said as he watched Ebenezer begin to climb her owner’s leg.

“I do feel bad leaving you again.” Steve plucked the cat off his leg and bumped noses with her. She placed a paw on his cheek and purred happily. Sam laughed at the sappy look on his friend’s face as he nuzzled her. He stopped laughing when he saw Steve’s next move.

“Did you just put that cat in your pocket?!”

Steve blushed. “Look! She fits perfectly! She’ll be warm!” He opened his coat to show Sam where Ebenezer had settled into an inside pocket with just her head sticking out. The kitten chirped at Sam to reassure him she was absolutely fine and ready to go. Before he could try to reason with him, Steve was out the door. Sam gave up and followed.

“Bringing cute furry animals to a tree lot to impress a guy is either a genius move, or a recipe for disaster,” he said closing the door behind him.

“It’s got nothing to do with Bucky. She was lonely,” Steve retorted. Sam couldn’t be sure, but he would have sworn he heard Steve whisper how much she was going to like Bucky down the neck of his coat.

The trio made it to the lot without any feline relate incidents. Sam was impressed with how calm the kitten was being. Steve, on the other hand, had begun fidgeting and appeared slightly panicked as they looked around for Bucky. They saw him down the end of a row of Spruces.   
“Damn, Steve. I may be ladies only, but that is a good looking man.” Sam watched Steve turn bright red at the observation, just in time for Bucky to notice them. Bucky’s face lit up when he recognized Steve. He held up a finger to indicate he’d be right with them. Sam was impressed to find Steve could actually go redder.

Finished with the customer he had been helping, Bucky walked over to where Sam and Steve had been waiting. “If that cat took down another tree, you may have to give up the idea.”

Steve grinned. He found it hard to not grin when he was talking to Bucky. “Not this time, but if she knocks down another tree, I may just have to get an artificial one.”

Bucky gasped in horror, “But I’d be so bored if I didn’t have to sell you a tree every 10 minutes!”

Sam watched the two men giggle and exchange bashful smiles. He rolled his eyes, they were both pitiful. “This trip is on me. I was over at Steve’s and asked where he got his tree. Been looking for a good one, so he offered to bring me to the source itself.”

“Brooklyn’s self proclaimed Christmas tree expert,” Steve added.

“You’re damn right,” Bucky said blushing. He reached out a hand to Sam, exchanged introductions, and led them to his first recommendation. Sam was doing an excellent job of drawing out the selection process. Steve appreciated the effort. The three men chatted pleasantly as they walked around the lot. Sam and Bucky got along instantly, and Steve began to have visions of double dates and outings. He was smiling stupidly at Bucky as he listened to him explain the differences between a Fraiser Fir and a Nobel Fir, when he heard a sound that made his eyes go wide.

Bucky turned to him, “Did you just hear a meow?”

Caught basking in Bucky’s presence, Steve had completely forgotten about the kitten that had fallen asleep in his pocket. He felt her squirm and she meowed again. He turned a deep shade of crimson as he unzipped the top of his jacket. Ebenezer popped her head out and let everyone in the vicinity know exactly how she felt about being forgotten.

“No WAY!” Bucky exclaimed, immediately reaching out to pet the kitten. He and Steve gushed over how cute she was and how she came to be in Steve’s pocket. Ebenezer purred proudly. “Okay, you two are meant for each other. This one brings a cat in his coat to buy a Christmas tree, and the other doesn’t even flinch at how weird that is,” Sam interjected, smiling. Steve and Bucky looked up at him in horror of being called out. It was only when they turned to look at each other that the realized exactly how close they were standing. They simultaneously began mumbling excuses and backing away from each other. Ebenezer seized the opportunity, climbed up to Steve’s shoulder, and hopped onto the nearest tree. All three men shouted as they watched her tail disappear deep into the branches.

Steve immediately reached in to grab her, but pulled his hand out just as quickly. “Damnit! She actually bit me!” Ebenezer shouted from somewhere near the tree trunk. Bucky peered in at her.

“I think she’s scared, Stevie. You may have to talk her out,” he said.

Sam, who also had his face halfway in the branches, straightened up. “Stevie?!”

“Focus, Wilson!” Steve snapped. “How are we going to get her out of here.”

“No need to use your Cap voice on me, I’m not the one who brought his pet tree shopping.”

Bucky stopped looking at the kitten, instead watching the go between. Steve’s Cap voice had a very different effect on him than it did Sam. _Jesus, you can use your Cap voice on me anytime_. His thoughts were interrupted by Ebenezer, who was pointing out loudly that once again she was being ignored, only this time she’s stuck in a much less warm spot.

“That’s a seriously noisy cat, Steve,” Sam pointed out as he circled the tree. “You sweet talk her and reach in slowly. If she moves away from you, I’ll grab her in the back here.”

Bucky watched as the two Avengers began their cat rescuing maneuver. Ebenezer did back away from Steve, despite his gentle ministrations. Sam made a quick grab for her, but was rewarded by a scratch to the back of his hand. He cradled his hand to his chest and regretted not wearing gloves. He had taken them off before he reached in, their thickness limiting his dexterity.

As the men debated their next move, Ebenezer decided to defy logic. She began climbing higher in the tree. Bucky had been about to volunteer to reach in with his metal hand to get her. Instead he said, “I have exactly two trees taller than 8 feet on this lot and your cat managed to jump into one of them.” They all watched the tiny kitten climb over their heads. Steve had begun a litany of apologies, Bucky waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. This isn’t even the weirdest thing I’ve seen here.” Sam made a mental note to get the rest of that story under less pressing circumstances.

Ebenezer meowed pitifully at them from her perch. It was clear she was terrified and not going to come down easy. Bucky clapped his hands together. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do.” He pulled off his left glove and waggled metal fingers at Steve. “I think I can still reach her. Stand right under me just in case she jumps or falls.” He began to reach up, Steve stood practically pressed against his left side in case he had to catch. Sam positioned himself slightly to their right. He wanted to be out of the way, but he also had to watch.

Fortunately, the kitten stayed put as Bucky slowly reached up to here. Unfortunately, as soon as he touched her she panicked. In the true contrary nature of cats everywhere, Ebenezer flung herself to Bucky’s right, rather than cooperating and falling down to Steve’s waiting hands. Sam was not at all ready to be the landing pad for a tiny, flying, screeching, ball of fur. He caught her, shouting, “HOLY SHIT!” as he bobbled and tried to get a tighter hold of her. In the confusion, Steve tried to brush past Bucky to get to Sam at the same time Bucky was turning to try to help. Their feet tangled and they both fell. They took the recently vacated tree with them.

  
Sam watched in horror as the tree tilted as if in slow motion. It fell back, taking a smaller Spruce with it. Steve and Bucky were still in a heap on the ground. Ebenezer was trying to burrow into Sam’s coat. A crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle.

“I take it back,” Bucky said, flopping onto his back. “You’re not a punk. But your cat sure as hell is.” Sam tucked Ebenezer inside his jacket as he stared in disbelief at the two men rolling on the ground and howling in laughter.

Suddenly, the kitten seemed like the sane one in the group. Sam unzipped a bit so Ebenezer could hear him better, “Your owner is an idiot. And he has definitely found his equally idiotic match.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone remind that this is a story about Steve and Bucky, and not a kitten.


	6. Hot Chocolate and the Problem with Bananas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has a lot of patience, but Steve and Bucky are too ridiculous for even him to deal with. Ebenezer is kind of a diva. Steve has a cunning plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that time I should have been sleeping because I have a lot of Christmas presents to make tomorrow, but instead I stayed up way too late and wrote nonsense? Because I do.

Steve and Bucky stayed on the ground while they regained their breath. Eventually another lot attendant ventured over, “Um. You need any help, boss?” he asked Bucky.

“Probably. How bad is it? Hard to tell from down here.”

The attendant shifted nervously, glancing over at Steve before he answered, “You and Captain Rogers knocked over two trees.”

“Not so bad then!” Steve laughed.

“Actually, sir, the second tree took out a wreath display.”

Bucky groaned and finally sat up. Sam offered a hand to help him up, which Bucky readily accepted. “How’s Ebenezer?”

Sam scoffed, “The little shit is asleep again.”

“She’s been through a lot, Sam! She’s exhausted!” Steve called from the ground. “I’d also like to point out you’ve left a 97 year old man laying in the dirt while you helped him up.” He flung his arm in Bucky’s direction before letting it flop back down. He closed his eyes and tried not to laugh at Sam’s grumbling. When he opened them again, Bucky was crouched next to him. The soft smile on his face made Steve glad he was already on the ground, it was less embarrassing than fainting in a swoon. _I can see it now_ , he thought, _Captain America Collapses at Sight of Hot Guy Smiling at Him. Story at 6._

Bucky did his best to look very serious. “Sir, are you alright? Should I call an ambulance. You may have broken a hip.”

“Hilarious. I don’t know why anyone shops here. The owner is a jerk.” Steve braced his hands on either side of his head, bent his knees, and very suddenly sprung to an upright position. He began dusting himself off like nothing had happened.

“Give me a break,” Sam groaned. He shook his head and smiled. Steve wasn’t normally a show off, but he had to admit that was kind of a baller move while trying to impress a guy. He had chosen the perfect audience. Bucky was on his feet asking everyone in the vicinity if they had seen that and repeatedly declaring that Steve was “freakin’ bad ass.”

Now that everyone was standing again, it was decided that Ebenezer would be stashed in the little office trailer at the back of the lot while Sam and Steve helped Bucky put everything back where it belonged. The trees weren’t much of a problem, though the one that the cat had been in definitely had a back side now. The stand for the wreaths proved much more of a challenge. Sam and Bucky were perfectly happy just to have everything off the ground. Steve wasn’t having it, arranging and rearranging the wreaths in attempt to make the stand look the most appealing. Sam and Bucky gave up and stood back to watch Steve work.

“Is he always like this?” Bucky asked quietly.

“Yeah, he’ll claim artistic sensibility to hide the fact that he’s an old fusspot.”

Steve didn’t bother turning around, saying, “You know I can hear you guys, right?”

Sam leaned closer to Bucky, “You should probably also know that with super strength comes super hearing.”

“Doesn’t help that you’ve got a loud mouth, Wilson,” Steve taunted as he finished his work. “There. Now they’re organized by size and price. You’ll sell more if people can find what they’re looking for easier.” He turned around to find Bucky looking at him in amazement. “What?”

“You do that a lot, don’t you?” Steve’s eyebrows creased, he wasn’t following. “You do ridiculously unnecessary things that are actually really considerate, so we can’t even give you a hard time about them.” Steve shrugged and turned back to the wreaths to hide his blush.

It was Sam who responded to Bucky, “Man, you got him figured out quick. But don’t let him fool you. He may seem like he’s got the boy scout thing going, but he’ll fleece you at poker as soon as look at you.” Bucky laughed. Sam put a hand on his shoulder and looked him dead in the eye, “Trust me. Steve Rogers is a cheating cheater who cheats at cards.”

“Enough, Sam,” Steve said as he came over.

“Nooo, I want to hear the rest of that story!” Bucky whined.

“There’s no story. Let’s go check on Ebenezer.” He headed back to the trailer. Once he was turned away from them, Sam mouthed I’ll tell you later to Bucky, earning himself a high five.

Ebenezer was still asleep on a makeshift bed Bucky had crafted from spare coats. The fact that Bucky had been concerned enough about the kitten to bother making it a bed left Steve with a warm feeling that hadn’t really subsided. Since she was settled in, the men decided to grab lunch before Sam and Steve left. They went to the cart, got another round of hot dogs and hot chocolate, and headed to the bench to eat. The conversation flowed easily between bites. Steve was swelling with pride that Sam seemed to like Bucky, though he’d be damned if he ever admitted it to Sam. Hot dogs eaten, they sat and finished the rest of their drinks.

“You know, I’ve been drinking this shit every day and every day I’m disappointed in it,” Bucky observed as he stared mournfully at his paper cup.

Steve had to agree. “Across the board, the food is much better today than it was when I was growing up. Except bananas. Bananas are weird. But even as broke as we always were, we’d sooner go without than drink this powdered garbage everyone drinks these days.”

Sam smiled, he was used to Steve’s trips down memory lane. Bucky was fascinated, “Didn’t realize this crap had been around that long.”

“Yeah, came out in the 30’s. We tried it once and decided it wasn’t worth it.”

“Huh. What’s wrong with bananas though?” Bucky asked innocently.

“Uh-uh. No. I am not sitting here for the banana diatribe again. Ask him about the bananas another time when I am far from here. Like in another state.” Sam got off the bench and started back to the lot to demonstrate how adamant he was about not hearing Steve’s banana complaints again.  

“Another time then,” Bucky smiled at Steve as they got up to follow Sam.

Steve collected Ebenezer while Sam insisted on buying the smaller tree that they had knocked over. Once it was netted, Steve threw the tree on his shoulder and Bucky walked them to the entrance of the lot. As they said their goodbyes, Sam promised to fill Bucky in on all of Steve’s bad habits, and Steve promised him he’d explain the problems of modern bananas. Bucky grinned and told them he couldn’t wait for both before saying he’d better do some actual work. He walked away slowly, turning to give Steve one last smile before he was snagged by a customer needing assistance.

Sam and Steve walked most of the way home in silence before Steve stopped suddenly. “Oh my god, Sam. I still didn’t get his number!”

A few paces ahead of him, Sam stopped in his tracks and buried his face in his hands. He turned to face his friend. “Cap, I need you to listen to me. You are one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met. That Bucky seems like a real standup dude. But I have never in all my life seen two people so into each other and so freakin’ clueless about how to handle it. You are beyond help.” He turned back around and started down the street. He got a few feet before he heard Steve calling behind him.

“Wait...so you think he likes me?!”

Back at the house, Steve fed Ebenezer as he and Sam chatted. Sam confirmed that he was 100% positive that Bucky was interested in Steve, but that he was also 100% positive he was also a big moron who didn’t know the first thing about making the first move. He declared that Steve was on his own with this one because, “You two idiots wouldn’t be able to handle the moves I got to teach.” Steve changed the subject after he got done laughing at Sam.

That night, as he tried to sleep, Steve allowed himself to entertain Sam’s assertion that Bucky may feel the same way. While he smiled into the darkness and scratched the head of his snoring kitten he had a flash of brilliance.

Reaching over to his nightstand, he grabbed his phone and texted Sam:  I am a genius with a cunning plan.

He woke up early, feeling optimistic. “Today’s the day, Ebenezer!” he told the kitten who had no interest in his early morning antics. He showered, got dressed, had his breakfast, and served up the cat’s food all without her joining him. Growing concerned, he ran up to the bedroom to check on her.

She hadn’t moved from where she’d settled back in after being temporarily displaced by Steve’s bed making. It wasn’t like Ebenezer to miss an opportunity to eat, so he gave her a gentle nudge. The kitten meowed pitifully and placed a tiny paw on Steve’s enormous hand. “Oh god, don’t be sick,” he begged. She opened her eyes and made a series of noises in an attempt to explain that she was perfectly fine, just tired from the ridiculous adventure Steve has dragged her on the previous day. “Alight, Eb. But if you’ve not eaten by the time I’m back from the store, I’m taking you to the vet.” That earned him a brief hiss. He wasn’t sure if it was the nickname or the threat of the vet, but decided he’d figure it out later.

Steve whistled his way to the store, stocked up on his needed supplies, and whistled his way back home. He was relieved to find that Ebenezer had come downstairs to eat and was happily chewing her favorite rattle mouse under the Christmas tree. “Feeling better, then?” She chirped her reply, clearly meaning she told him she was fine and he shouldn’t be such a worrywort. She rolled onto her back so Steve could scratch her belly for a bit before she tried to eat his hand.

After he had detached himself from the kitten, Steve went into the kitchen to enact phase one of his cunning plan. His phone chimed with a text from Sam which was just a series of question marks.

Smiling with pride, he texted: I’m going to take him some homemade hot chocolate and ask him to dinner.

Sam responded immediately: Damn, that’s actually pretty good.

Steve laughed, put his phone away and got to work. While the milk was on the stove, he dug through a cabinet to find a thermos. The realization that the only one he had was a Captain America one Darcy had gotten him as a joke made his stomach turn. He considered running back out to get a new one, but in the end decided that Bucky would probably think it was hilarious. Chocolate finished, he poured it in the thermos, screwed the cap on nice and tight, grabbed his coat, and headed to the tree lot with an optimistic spring to his step. It was time for phase two.

From a distance, he could tell the lot was exceptionally busy. “Shit. It’s Saturday,” Steve said under his breath. He couldn’t believe he didn’t think of that. Hoping he could catch Bucky between customers, he stayed off to the side and watched the action. After ten minutes, Bucky jogged over. Despite the cold, he was sweating. Steve decided sweaty was a very good look for him.

“Please tell me you are cat free today!” Bucky ribbed.

“Yeah, definitely. I, uhh…” Steve’s early confidence vanished completely. “Um, I made you some real hot chocolate. Kinda hoping I’d catch you on a break so we could talk. Forgot it was Saturday, though.” He held out the thermos awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh wow! That’s awesome! But yeah, we’re slammed.” Bucky took the thermos out of Steve’s hand and immediately began cracking up. “Didn’t want me to forget where this came from?”

Steve groaned, embarrassed. “It’s actually the only thermos I had.”

Bucky laughed even harder. “Well, this is great and I am definitely going to enjoy this. But I gotta get back. Still want to hear about those bananas, though, so you’ll have to come back. Plus, you’ll have to pick up your only thermos.” Steve looked up smiled weakly. Bucky thanked him for the treat and gave him a wink as he hurried back to work. The walk home was decidedly less springy.

When he got home, Steve went right to the kitchen. There was still hot chocolate left in the pan, so he poured it in a mug and microwaved it to warm it up. Might as well enjoy his effort. He read through some emails on his phone as he pulled the mug out and had a sip. His eyes went wide and he immediately spat the chocolate into the sink. Frantic, he looked around the kitchen for any indication of what could have gone so horribly, horribly wrong. “Oh no,” he cried, “no no no no no no no no no.” He walked over to the counter and slowly turned the canister he’d left out around. “Oh nooooooooooo,” he moaned as he read the word ‘Salt’. He looked over to the corner where the rest of the canisters sat and glared at the untouched sugar.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text: Sam. I fucked up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instant hot chocolate was invented by Carnation in 1935. The more you know. 
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://secret-blog-of-secrets.tumblr.com/)! It'll be fun!


	7. The Trials and Tribulations of Steve Rogers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is a grump. Natasha tries to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve is such a drama queen, but you have to feel bad for the guy. 
> 
> I want to thank everyone for their lovely comments on this little pet project! I have gotten several recommendations for nicknames for Ebenezer, and will be working them all in, I promise. That being said, if there are any ridiculous holiday rom-com tropes you want to put Steve and Bucky through, let me know and I will do my best to incorporate them. You can never have too many, after all!

Steve and Sam texted back and forth discussing how one recovers from serving their crush a thermos full of hot chocolate made with salt rather than sugar. Sam seemed to think making a new batch and apologizing would be enough. Steve favored the crawling into a hole and dying method of coping. No amount of Sam’s insistence that it was the thought that counted, and that Bucky had a great sense of humor and would think the entire thing was funny would console Steve. He vowed to spend the rest of the holidays hiding in his house with his cat.

Taking his new vow seriously, Steve shut off his phone,and spent the evening sharing one too many pizzas with Ebenezer and definitely not crying while watching ‘Love Actually’. It seemed like a good start to his new life as a hermit. Halfway through the 1938 version of ‘A Christmas Carol’, he fell asleep on the couch, the kitten snoring away on his chest.

Steve woke up bright and early, he always did even before the serum. Ebenezer hadn’t moved from her position on top of him. He gave her a gentle poke and asked if she was hungry. She made her answer clear by standing up, stretching, digging her tiny needle like claws into his chest, and laying immediately back down. This time she faced away from him, to make it clear how she felt about being asked ridiculous questions early in the morning. “Rude,” Steve said, negating his observation with a fond chuckle and a scratch behind the kitten’s ears. He thought about getting up to start his day, then remembered he was never leaving the house again. Taking a cue from Ebenezer, he settled back into the couch and dozed off.

A few hours later, there was a loud knocking at the front door. Ebenezer hissed and launched herself off Steve’s chest. Steve grumbled at the second set of holes she’d put in him that morning as he made his way to the foyer. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he groaned when he looked out the peephole.

“I heard that, Rogers, now open up,” Natasha called through the door. Steve complied and

Natasha waltzed past him and into the living room. She looked around at the empty pizza boxes, the beer bottles, and finally at Steve who was obviously still in the previous day’s clothes. “You’re phone is off. Sam has a VA thing and insisted that I check on you.” She narrowed her eyes as she examined his face, “Did you grow a sadness beard overnight? Is that a super soldier thing we didn’t know about?”

Steve flopped back down on the couch, “So he filled you in?” Natasha nodded, shrugging off her outerwear and tossing it on a nearest chair. “I’m fine. I’m just never going to interact with the general public again unless it’s Cap related. May as well take me off leave since I am no longer celebrating the holidays. Any holiday. Ever.”

“Wow. Dramatic much?” Natasha, realizing Steve wasn’t going to be budging from his position on the sofa, sat down on his legs. “Are you going to answer the beard question or what?”

“No, Natasha, I did not grow a beard overnight because I was depressed. I was growing the beard out because why not? Beards are in now and since I’m not on Avengers duty for a few weeks, I thought I’d give it a shot.”

“If there’s one thing people think of when they think about Steve Rogers, it’s how ‘in’ he is,” she smirked, doing finger quotes around the word ‘in’.  Steve jostled his legs, sending Nat a few inches into the air. “Oh, don’t get your khakis in a bunch. I’m here to cheer you up!”

“I don’t need cheering up. I am absolutely fine alone with my cat.” He called Ebenezer who came out from her hiding spot behind the tree. The kitten came over to the couch and gave a long, appraising look before hopping into Natasha’s lap. “Traitor,” he mumbled as Nat cooed.

Natasha didn’t look up from the kitten as she informed Steve that they were going to devise a plan to reapproach Bucky without seeming crazy. “I can’t. There’s no way I can go down to the lot again, Nat. I’ve already been there about 20 times and I poisoned him the last time!” he whined, shooting down every scenario she proposed.

After an hour of back and forth, Natasha plopped Ebenezer onto Steve’s stomach and climbed off his legs. “Fine. I’ve done my duty, but melodramatic nonagenarians prone to hyperbole are too much to deal with on my day off.” Steve shrugged in reply. Nat grabbed her coat and scarf, Ebenezer appearing at her feet. She bent down to pet the kitten, “You seem reasonable, tell your owner to get his shit together.” Ebenezer chirped at her in agreement.

“Stop trying to get my cat on your side,” Steve called over the back of the couch.

“She’s already on my side.” Natasha opened the front door, gave the kitten instructions to stay put, and said to Steve, “Since you’re a hopeless grump, I’m out of here. Think it’s time I got myself a tree anyway.” She closed the door as Steve gave her a dismissive wave.

It took a full minute for Steve to realize what Natasha had said. “Oh Jesus, no!” he shouted, sprinting off the couch, out the door, and onto the sidewalk. She was nowhere to be seen. He knew she couldn’t have made it to the tree lot already, but suspected she’d ducked in somewhere to hide from him. Steve looked down at his shoeless feet and decided going in and yelling at her over the phone would be a better idea than hunting her down on foot and causing a scene in front of his new neighbors.

Back inside, he turned his phone back on, ignoring a slew of text alerts to call Natasha. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t pick up. He texted her: IF YOU THINK I’M CHASING THERE DOWN THERE YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING, ROMANOV! Just as he hit send, his phone rang.

“Sam, you better be calling to apologize because Natasha is at the tree lot right now thanks to you!” Steve shouted down the line.

Once Sam was done laughing he asked, “How the hell is it my fault she went down there? You’re the one not listening to us.”

“You sicked her on me! It’s your fault she is even in the neighborhood!”

“Oh come on, you don’t think she’d actually do anything to embarrass you, do you? She probably is doing some sort of super spy recon.”

“I absolutely think she’ll do something to embarrass me!” Steve cried. He could hear Sam stifling a chuckle.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But look at it this way, it can’t get any worse! You did just try to kill the guy yesterday.”

“Goddamn it, Wilson,” Steve groused, hanging up on his friend.

Ebenezer, sensing the tension in the air, had begun to run around the downstairs at top speed before finally running into Steve’s ankle, knocking herself over. Steve looked down as she gave herself a little shake and decided that that patch of floor was as good as any to pass out on. He stared at her for a while, “Some help you are,” he said accusingly. He went into the kitchen to make some desperately needed coffee.

Steve sat on the counter and read through his texts as he waited for the coffee to finish. There were several from both Sam and Nat warning him of Natasha’s impending visit if he didn’t respond soon. Clint had texted wanting to know if he had really tried to kill the “hot tree dude with tainted hot chocolate”, and Tony had sent him several messages explaining that if he didn’t show up for the Tower Christmas party, he would be “banned from Avenging.” He let Clint know that the hot chocolate incident was accidental and never to be spoken of again, promised Tony he’d be at the party, and ignored Sam and Natasha.

Two cups of coffee and one fed kitten later, Steve began to realize he was very bad at being a hermit. Tony’s messages about the Christmas party reminded him he’d not done his shopping for his teammates yet. He got himself showered and dressed and headed out to the shops. Walking through the neighborhood, his mood began to improve. I just need to avoid the block where Bucky works for a few more weeks, he thought, feeling the Christmas spirit returning. By the time he got back home, he was laden with packages and whistling “Here We Come A-wassaling”.

He greeted Ebenezer enthusiastically and dumped the gifts on the dining room table. The kitten followed Steve around as he turned on all the Christmas lights and cranked the volume on The Ronettes singing ‘Sleigh Ride’. He knew he was in deep denial trying to ignore the very existence of Bucky Barnes, but it was sort of working, so he went with it. He unpacked everything, gathered the supplies he needed for some serious gift wrapping, and made some salt-free hot chocolate for himself.

By the time, he had most of the presents wrapped, Ebenezer had discovered what was happening on the table, and was batting at the ribbon as Steve made bows. Unable to keep the cut pieces of ribbon out of the clutches of the kitten, he started draping them around his own neck. Ebenezer caught on quickly and started scaling Steve’s arm to get to them. She snatched one and jumped onto the table, rolling around on the wrapping paper as she played with it. All productivity fell to the wayside as he dangled another strip over her head and watched her flail trying to grab hold. An idea occurred to him and he grinned down as the kitten rolled onto her back.

It was a few minutes later when he heard a voice calling out, “Um, Steve? The door was open and I heard the music…”

Steve looked up as Bucky rounded the corner. They both froze. Bucky was holding Steve’s thermos in one hand, and a wreath in the other. Steve paled and sat down heavily in the chair behind him. He had just been caught wearing ribbons around his neck, trying to gift wrap his squirming cat and singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ at the top of his lungs by the man of his dreams. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who has ever tried to gift wrap anything in the same house as a cat knows the struggle is real. 
> 
> Me on Tumblr.


	8. Hot Chocolate Part Deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve doesn't make and ass of himself. Bucky is adorable. Ebenezer is the smartest one in the bunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, thought this one was going to be late. Last night's Christmas party required some recovery time today! 
> 
> I have officially anthropomophized the damn cat to the point where I should really consider her an original character. Enjoy!

Bucky blinked owlishly at Steve, slowly processing the scene in front of him. Steve banged his forehead on the dining room table a few times before staying down after the last thud. Ebenezer took the opportunity to attach herself to Steve’s hair and give it a good chewing. She was wearing what essentially amounted to a wrapping paper skirt covered in candy canes.

“Ummm….I can come back?” Bucky offered.

Steve didn’t look up. “Yeah, give me 24 hours so I have time to move out of the country first.”

Bucky laughed as he approached the table. “I brought back your thermos.” Steve grunted a thanks, but kept his head down. Bucky wasn’t sure if he was genuinely that embarrassed, or was afraid to disturb the cat eating his hair. He decided to eliminate one excuse and plucked Ebenezer off of Steve’s head. Despite the kitten removal, Steve stayed in place. He waited, listening for Bucky’s retreat. He figured at this point he probably seemed genuinely crazy, and any reasonable person would want to distance themselves quickly from a scientifically enhanced, cat wrapping mad man.

Steve didn’t hear footsteps heading to the door. He did hear quiet humming along to “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”, Ebenezer making squeaking noises, and the rustling of paper. Curiosity got the best of him. He raised his head to see Bucky thoroughly engrossed in trying to tie a bow around the kitten’s tail. “I could hold her still for you, but where’s the fun without the challenge?” Bucky looked up from his project with a smile. Ebenezer, sensing his distraction, took off like a shot, her paper skirt flying off halfway across the living room.

Bucky pointed at Steve’s forehead with the ribbon he was left holding, “If you were hitting your super soldier head hard enough to leave a red mark, I feel bad for the table. Do ya have to get Vibranium furniture to handle that kind of abuse?” Steve ignored the jab, he was too busy being shocked that Bucky was in his house, and didn’t seem the least bit put off by the Hot Chocolate of Death he’d been given. Still, he owed him an apology for that one.

“Sorry I tried to kill you with hot chocolate. I didn’t taste it until I got back.”

“Okay, good. Wasn’t sure if you secretly hated me, or just had the world’s worst taste in hot beverages.” Bucky’s good natured smile rid the room of any residual tension.

Steve slumped back in his chair in relief. “No. That was truly terrible. And a mistake. A truly terrible mistake,” he was beginning to babble. He jumped out of his seat and began to clear the gift wrapping supplies from the table, more as something to do other than continue rambling. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked, remembering his manners. Bucky’s eyebrows shot up so high they practically hit the ceiling. “Oh Jesus Christ,” Steve moaned. “Water, a pre-bottled beverage. Something I can’t possibly fuck up.”

 _This may be the most ridiculous man I have ever met and I want to cuddle the fuck out of his awkward ass_ , Bucky thought as he tried to suppress a grin. He had a feeling that if he let himself, he would spend most of his time around Steve smiling at him dopily. “You’re not getting out of it that easily, punk. I am owed a real hot chocolate after the hell you put my poor taste buds through.” Bucky paused, Steve turned to stare at him as if he couldn’t believe he’d trust him again. “I’m supervising your ass this time, though.”

“Deal!” Steve beamed, bounding out the door into the kitchen. “C’mon, jerk. Unless you’re gonna trust me on my own.” He skidded to a halt before he reached the cabinet. “Wait a second,” he said to himself. Steve walked back to the dining room as Bucky was hanging his coat on the back of a chair. “How the hell do you know where I live?”

“I was wondering when you were going to get to that,” Bucky said as he brushed past Steve into the kitchen. Steve turned to stare him down, waiting for an answer. “Where do you keep your pans?” Bucky called out as he pulled the milk out of Steve’s refrigerator.

Steve crossed his arms across his chest and went into full Captain America stance, “How do you know where I live?” He did his best to look stern. A shiver ran down Bucky’s spine, Ohhhh god. The Cap voice. He could feel his face turning red and hot, he stuck his head back into the refrigerator, pretending to be looking for something. “Buck,” Steve admonished. Bucky whined softly before straightening up and shutting the door to the fridge.

“Funny story, actually,” Bucky answered, his voice cracking slightly. “Friend of yours came down to buy a tree today.”

“Oh god, Natasha,” Steve groaned as the pieces fell into place.

“That’s the one! Anyway, thanks for sending her down. You Avenger types have been great for business.” Bucky began rummaging in Steve’s drawers and cabinets, looking for hot chocolate supplies. Steve leaned against the doorframe, arms still crossed. Bucky did his best to not stare. He gulped and continued, “Right. So. She mentioned you were feeling kinda bad about the hot chocolate thing, but were sort of embarrassed to come down to the lot. I mentioned wanting to get your thermos back to you....” he paused, thinking. “You know, she was pretty quick to give up your address for a highly trained spy.”

Steve scratched at his beard. “I’m really sorry about her. You really didn’t need to bring it. Honestly, you can keep it. No way I’m carrying that thing around in public anyway. It was a gag gift.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Bucky chuckled. “I’m glad she came by, though.” Both men blushed, but it was Steve who looked away first. He came fully into the kitchen and got out the ingredients Bucky hadn’t found.

He was pretending to read the label on the can of Hersey’s cocoa powder when he said, “Me too,” so softly Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d heard him at first. Steve finally looked up and gave a small, bashful smile.

Bucky returned the smile tenfold before shouting, “OH!” loud enough to make Steve jump a little. “Sorry. I forgot!” He dashed into the dining room and came back hold the wreath he had brought. “I got you a wreath! As a thank you.”

Steve took the wreath out of Bucky’s hands and held it up to his face, inhaling the evergreen sent. “It’s beautiful, Buck. But what on earth do you have to thank me for? Knocking over half your tree lot? Or is it for that time I nearly poisoned you?”

“Both actually,” Bucky said. He did that thing where he looked up through his eyelashes, tucked a piece of stray hair behind his ear, and made Steve’s knees feel like they were going to give out. “Plus, and Sam would probably kill me for admitting this, but wreath sales have actually gone up since you rearranged the display.”

“Oh, I guess you’re welcome, then,” Steve said. He propped the wreath on the counter away from the stove. “Should I decorate it? That’s what people do, right? Ribbons and stuff?”

“Yeah, or they make these stick things with ornaments and glitter all over them. Or…” Bucky trailed off. Steve quirked an eyebrow up and mustered his best “Captain America is waiting for you” expression. “Well, when I was little, my Ma used to make these fake cookies that were just for decorating and using as ornaments. We could make those. You could paint them real nice, I bet.”

It took Steve a minute to realize that Bucky was proposing they work on it together, and that he seemed nervous about Steve’s answer. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d say yes, but he was enjoying Bucky seeming embarrassed for a change. He figured he’d made enough of an ass of himself the last few days, he could enjoy the moment while it lasted. “What makes you think I’d be able to paint them nice?”

Bucky looked like he was trying to come up with a good excuse for having that particular factoid at his disposal. He gave up and shrugged, “Definitely not because I spent the evening reading your Wikipedia page after you came to the lot the first time, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“You didn’t!” Steve laughed.

“Not only did I, but I updated that shit this week to state you habitually carry kittens in your pocket and are a tree knocking down klutz when not in uniform,” Bucky said casually. He started making the hot chocolate, swatting Steve away when he moved in to help. “No way, pal. I’m not taking that risk again.”

Steve hopped up on the counter and watched Bucky measure the cocoa powder, vanilla, milk, and actual sugar into the pot with just a dash of salt. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. And go ahead and change my Wikipedia page all you want. It would be nice having someone other than Stark making weekly updates to it. Did you know I’ll only eat red, white, and blue foods? It’s true. It was on Wikipedia.”

“That sounds like Tony. You should hear the list of nicknames he has for me since the arm.”

“Don’t get me started on nicknames from Tony. He still calls me Capsicle. And he sent me 10 cases of rocket pops on my birthday this summer.”

“He stuck fruit magnets on the back of my arm while he had Dummy distract me.”

“He signed me up for SeniorPeopleMeet.com. Made a profile and everything. He used the phrase ‘single and ready to mingle’.”

Bucky snorted, turning to hand Steve a cup of properly made hot chocolate. They each took a sip and smiled. One step closer and Bucky would be standing between Steve’s legs. Steve was hyper-aware of how close they were. They had only been in the kitchen for a few minutes together, but it felt like every one of those minutes were spent almost, but not quite, touching. Bucky took another swig of his drink before asking, “So are you?” Steve didn’t immediately react to the question. Bucky took it to mean he hadn’t understood what was being asked. The reality was, Steve was expending entirely too much energy resisting the urge to hook an ankle around Bucky and pull him in to answer a simple yes or no question. Helpfully, Bucky repeated it, “Are you? Single and ready to mingle?” a sly smile spread on Bucky’s face.

Steve was beginning to nod in response when they were both distracted by the sound of tiny paws going at top speed and a trilling sound increasing in volume. Seconds later, Ebenezer was attached halfway up Steve’s calf and climbing her way into his lap. She had gotten over the gift wrapping fiasco and was now annoyed that Steve seemed more interested in petting Bucky than her. Fortunately for the kitten, the men were easy marks. As soon as she reached Steve’s lap, they both began to pet and scratch her. She purred her approval at them.

“I am,” Steve said, his attention still turned to the cat, “single. Mingling, maybe not so much. That implies a sort of playing the field thing I’ve never been good at. Is it mingling if it’s just one person?”

“I don’t know, Stevie. Is there anyone in particular you are hoping to mingle with?” Bucky employed Steve’s tactic of using the cat as an excuse to avoid looking at each other.

“Depends, Buck. Does making inedible cookies count as mingling?” Steve looked up, accepting the fact that even his ears were blushing at this point. He couldn’t believe he’d managed to be so forward. The kitten was looking back and forth between the two men.

Bucky gave a noncommittal shrug that was completely betrayed by the brightness in his eyes and the elation in his smile. “I’ll call Ma and see if she still has the recipe.” He managed to pull away from Steve’s gravitational field to dig his phone out of his pocket and make the call.

Ebenezer climbed off Steve’s lap and onto the counter, meowing loudly. Steve took this to mean she was hungry and set about getting her dinner ready. What she was trying to say was, “Oh for fuck’s sake. Will you two just kiss already.” _Humans are idiots,_ the kitten thought as she chowed down on the presented food, _but useful_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are fab and I love you for reading and commenting. Feel free to talk to me or send me schmoopy Stucky Christmas stuff over on Tumblr. 'Cause that shit is my jam.


	9. Hawkeyes and Griswolds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky bake cookies and are idiots. Enter Clint Barton. Bucky is a beer fueled flirt. Ebenezer is surprisingly low key.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long to get posted! Parties and gift making and such. 'Tis the season. Three more chapters after this and an epilogue. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading and commenting. It's meant the world to me and made this so much fun to write!

Steve began to gather the usual baking utensils and tried not to listen in on Bucky’s conversation with his mom. He gave up when Bucky threw his head back and laughed so hard he had to hold on to the counter to keep himself upright. “Wait, a sec, Ma. I gotta tell him. Stevie! Guess how you make decorative cookies!” Steve crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. “It’s almost like making regular cookies...except you use salt instead of sugar!” Bucky crumpled to the floor, unable to contain his glee. Steve stared hard at him, trying his best to look disappointed in the display. He snatched the paper Bucky had written the recipe on and read.

“These are nothing like actual cookies!”

“They are literally called ‘salt cookies’, Steve!” Bucky gave up entirely and was flat on his back on the kitchen floor, laughing so hard he was gasping for air. “No, it’s the guy who made the hot chocolate, Ma,” he said into the phone. Another wave of laughter rocked him, “Wait a second, I gotta tell him that!” Steve, in an attempt to not smile like a giant fond dope at Bucky, did his best to look stern. “Ma says that when the cookies are done, maybe you can make some of your hot chocolate to go with them.” Tears streamed down Bucky’s face as he grabbed his own stomach, “Oh god, I think I hurt something laughing.”

Steve turned around and pretended to study the recipe, acting very put out. His performance only made Bucky laugh harder. Steve said to him, “Get yourself together, jerk. I gotta run next door and see if they have cookie cutters I can borrow.” He managed to get out of the kitchen before he was overcome with the giggles himself. 

Living in a family-dense neighborhood had its advantages, and Steve only had to knock on two doors before he found someone at home with a complete set of “Twelve Days of Christmas” cookie cutters they were willing to lend Steve. When he got back to his kitchen, Bucky was still on the floor talking to his mom, only now Ebenezer had joined him and was purring happily away on his chest while Bucky scratched under her chin. “You have no loyalty or shame,” Steve admonished. Ebenezer made a trilling sound to say, “Yeah, so?” 

Bucky said goodbye to his mother, plucked the kitten off his chest, and sat up with a grin. It was enough to make Steve feel like he’d been kicked in the chest.  _ But in a good way _ , _ which is a fucking insane thing to think. What the hell, Rogers?  _ He gave a quick, high laugh as various thoughts about the brilliance of Bucky’s smile made him dizzy. “So, uh, you done making fun of me with your mom?” He reached out a hand to help Bucky up. He definitely did not feel every single cliched sizzle of electricity, or like time stood still when Bucky grabbed his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. This was getting ridiculous.  _ How many more times are you going to be able to pull that move before he thinks you’re nuts?  _ Steve chastised himself. He dropped Bucky’s hand as soon as he was standing and tried to get some space between them. Bucky matched his step back with a step forward. 

“Aw, c’mon, Stevie. I didn’t mean anything. Plus, Ma thinks you’re cute!” Bucky winked at him. Steve concentrated on not swallowing his tongue, and looked down at his shoes. 

_ Oh, fuck it! _ Steve thought. He looked up at Bucky through his eyelashes, gave a bashful grin, and rubbed the back of his neck. According to Natasha, it was a move guaranteed to work on anyone who wasn’t her. “Just your mom think that, Buck?” his voice quieter and raspier than he expected. Bucky chewed on his bottom lip and took another step forward. Steve looked up fully and had to fight for breath, swearing he would never get used to Bucky’s beauty. He raised his hand, losing the fight not to touch Bucky’s cheek. 

“Yoooooooooooooooo, Cap!” a voice bellowed from the living room. The men in the kitchen jumped apart, Bucky slamming himself into the refrigerator, and Steve finding himself seated on the counter. Clint came around the corner saying, “Nice digs, Steve. Nat said you may be down so...oh. You have company.”

“Yes, Clint. I do.” Steve near growled. Ebenezer hissed. 

Clint hissed back at the cat, shoved a bag he was carrying into Steve’s lap, and reached out a hand to Bucky, “Clint Barton. I work with Steve, Avenging shit.” 

Bucky stopped looking shocked and began looking amused and curious. It was a look Steve knew would lead to no good. “Bucky Barnes. I sell Steve trees and occasionally get quasi poisoned by him.”  

“Oh man, that’s really true? That’s awesome. Not that you could have died, but that Cap screwed the pooch so bad making hot chocolate.” 

Steve hopped off the counter. “I didn’t almost poison him and no one was remotely close to dying.”  

“You don’t know what my sodium levels are like, Stevie!” Bucky said with a wink that somehow made the statement seem vaguely lewd. Steve blushed furiously and prayed Clint wasn’t paying too much attention. 

“Stevie?! This is great. I am so glad I am here for this.”

“Why are you here, Barton?” Steve asked, looking through the bag he was handed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bucky’s eyes go wide. He may have deliberately used his Cap voice that time.

“I came by with supplies to cheer you up. Natasha said you were having a rough day. Apparently Nat doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I can’t wait to tell her!” 

Bucky joined Steve to go through the bag. There found a variety of junk food, a stack of magazines, and several DVDs. Bucky took the magazines to sort through, Steve the videos. “Die Hard? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Elf?” 

“I tried to pick Christmas movies that wouldn’t be sad,” Clint said proudly. 

“Told you Christmas Vacation is mandatory viewing,” Bucky added. Steve looked up in time to see Bucky turn a shade of red he’d never seen before. He was staring at the magazines and saying, “Um….” over and over again. Steve grabbed them out of his hands, took one look at them, and dropped them on the floor. 

“CLINT!” Steve roared. 

Clint, unimpressed with the other men’s prudishness, shrugged. “Hey, thought you may be lonely, so I picked up some skin mags. Figured I’d get you some with girls and some with guys, since, well, I don’t have to tell you.” He helped himself to a beer and settled back to enjoy a national icon try to stammer her way out of his current predicament. Bucky’s wolf grin was beginning to make another appearance. Steve continued to stare at the floor. Ebenezer, annoyed with all the commotion, came over, gave them all a good talking to, and laid down on the magazines. 

“Ebenezer! Get off! You’re way too young to be in the same room as those!” Steve cried. He scooped up the cat and carried her into the dining room as an excuse to get away from the scene in the kitchen. 

“So what are you crazy kids up to this evening?” he heard Clint ask Bucky.

“We’re baking inedible cookie,” Bucky answered matter of factly. Steve could hear the smirk from the other room. The fact that Bucky was deliberately being cryptic pleased him more than he cared to admit. 

“Right. Sure. Is food and drinks you can’t consume some sort of gay sex foreplay thing or something?” Of course, Clint wasn’t going to let Steve enjoy the moment. He stormed back to the kitchen. 

“Barton, thanks for the concern. But would you kindly get the hell out of my house?”

“Aww, Cap. C’mon. Paul Bunyan was being weird on purpose,” Clint whined. 

“Paul Bunyan?” Bucky asked.

“It’s the only person he could think of with any sort of tree association, ignore him,” Steve explained. He turned to Clint, “We’re making the cookies to decorate a wreath, if you must know.” 

“Okay, that’s actually kind of fun!” Clint said excitedly. “Are you gonna paint them and put sprinkles on them and stuff? I’ve seen that sort of thing. Granted, never got to do it. See, Bucky, I was raised in a circus…”

“Clint,” Steve cut him off. He looked over at Bucky who looked like he was having the time of his life, and sighed. “Do you want to help us make and decorate inedible cookies?” 

“Hell yeah, I do!” Clint high fived Bucky. “And then we can watch movies and get pizza!” Even Steve had to chuckle at his enthusiasm. He grabbed the recipe and assigned tasks. 

There were relatively few complications getting the cookies in the oven. The dough only had four ingredients, and since no one would be eating them, they didn’t have to be overly concerned with being exact. Cutting out the shapes would have gone a lot smoother if Bucky and Clint hadn’t decided that you had to sing the corresponding “Twelve Days of Christmas” line for each cookie cutter you used. Steve humored them, secretly wishing the beer they were drinking had the same effect on him. Once they were baking, they found themselves with time to kill. Steve and Bucky cleaned up, while Clint ordered pizza. By the time the pizza arrived, the cookies were ready to come out and cool. They grabbed plates and beer, and headed into the living room to watch “Christmas Vacation” and eat. 

The pizza disappeared quicker than would strictly be deemed reasonable. “Sorry, Rogers, forgot you can eat four pizzas on your own,” Clint said as he settled back in an overstuffed chair. 

“Four?!” Bucky asked, dismayed and impressed.

Steve blushed, “It’s the serum. Speeds up my metabolism.” 

Bucky scooted a little closer on to Steve on the couch, “Oh yeah. Any other side effects a fella ought to know about?” He chewed his lip and did his best to look coy. The beer, however, was catching up to him and he swayed slightly. It was the only thing that stopped Steve from lunging at him right then and there, Barton be damned. When Steve didn’t make a move, Bucky “Ahhh, Stevie,” and flopped back on the couch. One of his hand rubbed circles on Steve’s lower back. The other reached up to pull his hair tie out and shake out the bun he’d had. 

  
Steve turned and watch Bucky run his hands through his hair. The faint scent of shampoo wafted over to him and made his head spin. The heat where Bucky was touching his back was almost unbearable. Steve hadn’t realized how long anyone had touched him beyond the clap on the back of teammates in the field, or the clinical prodding of doctors and scientists. He’d tried dating, and some of the dates had been surprisingly handsy. But this was different. This felt like actual affection. He realized the last person to show him genuine physical affection had been Peggy. It began to feel like the walls of the living room where closing in on him. He jumped up from the sofa, “Who needs another beer?” Both of the other men raised their hands. 

In the kitchen, Steve leaned against the counter and collected his thoughts. Ebenezer had followed closely on his heels and was now scaling his leg. He picked her off his pants and cradled her to his chest. He listened to Clint and Bucky recite lines along with the movie and crack themselves up. “Oh, Ebenezer. This is so, so bad,” he sighed. He put her on his shoulder and gathered the cookies into a pile. It was obvious they weren’t getting finished tonight, but he wanted to at least consolidate the mess. After a few minutes of stalling, he heard Clint clear his throat behind him. 

“You okay?” Clint’s concern was obvious.

Steve stared at him, debating whether or not to blow him off with an “I’m fine.” But the fact was, he needed someone to talk to, and, God help him, Clint Barton was the only person around. “It’s just. I really like him, Clint. A lot. And it’s terrifying and exciting and I feel like I’m blowing it every time I open my mouth. Or move for that matter. I’m so bad at this sort of thing. He probably expects me to have my shit together. But the fact is fighting aliens is easier than knowing how or when to make a move.” 

“Awww, crushes,” Clint said sympathetically. “If it helps any, that dude is way into you. I don’t think you need to worry about when and where. He would be 1000% down for it no matter what.” 

“He’s also kinda drunk, Clint.”

“True, true. But he wasn’t when I got here and he was heavy into the googoo eyes then, too. I think he’s good for you. He doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass you’re Captain America. He gives you a hard time while looking at you like you’re the bee’s freakin’ knees. He thinks you’re funny, which means he has an awful sense of humor. And he’s way out of your league, hotness wise.” Clint nodded sagely and got himself the beer Steve never did. 

“Oh god. You’re right. He’s so hot.” Steve whined. 

“Jesus. Now you sound like a 13 year old girl. I was kidding about that last part. You are scientifically engineered to be the hottest dude on the planet. So that’s the one thing you don’t have to worry about. Though you may want to ditch the chinos, bud.” 

Steve gave him a weak smile, “Thanks, Clint. I’m overthinking all of this.”

“Whatcha overthinking, Stevie?” Bucky asked, slurring slightly, from the doorway. 

Steve squeaked. “When’d you get there, Buck?”

“Just now. Was wondering what happened to my beer? Didn’t mean to interrupt a heart to heart or anything.” He took the beer Clint had gotten out of the fridge for him, and moved to lean half on the counter next to Steve, and half on Steve himself. Clint chuckled and said something about getting back to the Griswolds before ducking out of the kitchen. Bucky took a long draw from his beer and craned his neck to look at Steve, “Where you guys talking about me, Stevie?”

Steve was positive Bucky could hear his heart hammering in his chest. “You always this much of a flirt when you drink, Buck?” 

Bucky turned so his hip was against the counter, his body pressed against Steve’s arm and side. “Well, subtlety wasn’t getting me anywhere.”

“It’s adorable you think you’ve been subtle so far,” Steve teased. Bucky’s proximity was triggering some sort of flirtation flight or fight response in Steve. And this time Steve was sticking around to fight.  

“Says the man who came to my work 30 times in four days.” 

A piece of hair had fallen in front of Bucky’s eyes. Steve brushed it behind his ear, leaving his fingers resting gently on Bucky’s cheek. “It’s a good think you’re pretty, ‘cause your math skills are the pits.” Bucky gave a surprised laugh and rested his forehead against Steve’s chest. Steve wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. 

Bucky’s arms slid around Steve’s waist. “I think I’m a little drunk,” he mumbled into Steve’s shirt. 

“I think you may be,” Steve agreed.

“So I should probably go home before I really make an ass of myself.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you probably should go home. Though I’m more worried about me than you at this point.”

Bucky lifted his head, “Yeah, Stevie?”

  
“Yeah, Buck.” 

Bucky pulled away and gave Steve a smile that was simultaneously sad, and full of promise. “I hate Clint. He’s a nice guy. Fun. Obviously a good friend. But right now I hate him.” 

“I’m clobbering him with my shield as soon as you leave,” Steve agreed, leading them into the living room. “Bucky’s gotta go, Clint. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you should probably head out, too. It’s getting late.” 

Clint looked back and forth between the men, trying to gauge what had gone on in the kitchen. He gave up and shrugged, “Fine. Stark sent a car with me. Want a ride, Bucky?”

“Yeah, that's probably for the best.”

They gathered their belongings and Steve walked them to the door. “Give me your phone, Buck. I want to put my number in so you can text me when you get home. Not that I don’t trust Barton, but…”

Clint stuck his tongue out at Steve. “Don’t worry, Cap. I’ll ensure your gentleman caller gets home unmolested.” 

Steve programmed his number into Bucky’s phone and handed it back. “Good luck with him.” He shuffled his feet nervously. Despite Clint’s presence, the air still felt overheated and charged from their time in the kitchen. He had no idea how to act, what an appropriate goodbye was at that point. 

Fortunately, Bucky made a move. He threw his arms around Steve’s neck. “Bye, Stevie. If I need to, I will blame the beer for this.” He gave him a peck on the cheek and dashed out the door. Steve stared after him, grinning. The only reason he saw Clint give a big thumbs up and wave goodbye is because he moved himself into Steve’s line of site. He watched until they were both in the car and pulling away. Finally he shut the door. 

Ebenezer sat in the middle of the living room giving Steve a very demanding look. He scooped her up and flopped down on the couch. At some point Die Hard was put on, Steve watched having no idea what was really happening. Ebenezer made circles on his chest before plopping down. She meowed at him at length, letting him know what she thought of the evening. “I know, Ebenezer. I fucking love Christmas, too.” A few minutes later, his phone chimed with a text: Home safe. Clint was a gentleman. Going to bed now, definitely not going to be thinking about you. x 

  
Steve fell asleep petting the kitten and smiling inappropriately as John McClane shot his way through Nakatomi Plaza. 


	10. 'Tis the Season to be Texting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky text! Steve is (almost) brave. Ebenezer has no time for Steve's nonsense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fast a furious to get everything posted by Christmas Eve! Seriously, what the hell, December? Did you skip a week or something? 
> 
> For the texting bits: Texts to Steve are in italics and labeled. Steve is in bold.

Steve woke up smiling. Until he tried to move. Then Steve groaned. For a fleeting moment he missed the days when sleeping on a sofa allowed him plenty of room to be comfortable. Those days were over and now the only thing sleeping on a sofa allowed him was an opportunity to hear a shocking array of noises originating from his back and neck as he sat up and stretched. “Erghhhhh,” he explained to Ebenezer, who was looking at him from the back of the couch like he’d lost his mind. He picked up his phone and smiled at Bucky’s text from the previous night. The fact that he’d reached for his phone before his kitten did not sit well with Ebenezer. After sufficient wiggling of her hind quarters, she launched herself onto Steve’s shoulder. “Fine. Breakfast,” Steve said. He scratched her head as they went into the kitchen. “But you have to help me think of something good to text back.” Ebenezer headbutted him in the neck in reply. 

Cat fed, and coffee brewing, Steve picked up his phone to stare at Bucky’s text again. “X’s mean kisses, right?” he asked Ebenezer. Ebenezer was too busy enjoying her breakfast to bother responding. After several drafts, Steve finally sent a text to Bucky: 

**Hope you slept well! ;)**

 

“Lame. That’s so lame,” he grumbled as he fixed his own breakfast. 

Steve sat in the dining room eating his second bowl of oatmeal, and waving a piece of ribbon to entertain Ebenezer. His cell phone buzzed on the table next to him. The vibration sent the kitten into a tizzy and she pounce on the phone with all of her might. She chewed the case and pawed at it wildly. Having been on the receiving end of tiny needle sharp kitten claws, Steve was hesitant to make a grab . Seeing Bucky’s name on the screen between Ebenezer’s attacks was enough motivation to make it worth the risk. He snatched the phone away with only minor injuries. 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 09:03: Clint is evil. Trees are evil. People are evil.  _

_ Bucky Barnes 09:04: Except you. You’re not evil. Nothing that cute can be evil.  _

 

Steve whooped and did a fist pump that would have been humiliating if any of The Avengers had witnessed it. He texted back.

 

**That’s not true. You’ve met my cat.**

_ Bucky Barnes 09:08: I’m more of a dog guy. And you do better puppy dog eyes than Ebenezer.  _

_ Bucky Barnes 09:08: ‘Cause she’s a cat and shit.  _

 

Steve’s sudden laughter startled Ebenezer in the overly dramatic way only cats can be startled. She arched her back and leapt sideways off the table, bolting into the other room. He heard a dull thud from the living room. Since he didn’t hear the tree crashing down, but did hear the kitten yelling at whatever it was that had gotten in her way, he figured she was fine. He called Sam. 

“Sam! I think he’s flirting with me!” Steve said by way of greeting. 

Sam sighed at his friend, “Think? Also, good morning.”

“Right, yeah. good morning. Sure. Did you hear what I said?”

Steve listened as the ever patient Sam took a deep breath. “I did. And without having any context on what’s prompting this, I can pretty much guarantee he’s flirting with you. I’ve seen you together, dude.” 

Unconvinced, Steve relayed the events of the prior evening and the subsequent texts to Sam. Once he wound down, he heard Sam trying to stifle laughter on the other side of the phone. “What? What about this is funny to you, Wilson?” 

“What part of this isn’t funny, man? Do you even hear yourself? I sincerely hope Bucky gets around to making an actual move soon, because your ass is truly clueless, Steve.” Sam stopped trying to hide his mirth. 

“I can make a move!” Steve protested, but it was more out of a deep seated habit of being stubborn and contrary. Self doubt came fast on its heels. “You really think he’d go out with me if I asked?” 

“Yes, Steve. I am sure that if you asked him out he’d say yes. Hey, ask him to Stark’s party!”

Steve voiced his disbelief, “No way. Not a chance. I’ve embarrassed myself enough in front of him. I don’t need him at Tony’s party with everyone watching everything we do.” 

“Dude, did you just actually scoff at me?” Sam asked with feigned shock. “Seriously, he’s already met just about everyone. He knows Tony and still talks to you. If he can handle Clint and Nat he can certainly handle Bruce. Thor...well, Bucky doesn’t seem the type to be intimidated by the gratuitously jovial.” 

“I can’t, Sam. Maybe something else. But not that.”

“You have a week to change your mind,” Sam reminded him. “Either way, do yourself a favor and ask.”

They continued to go back and forth on the merits of Sam’s plan for a few more minutes before hanging up. Steve was still unsure what he was going to do when he went upstairs to get himself ready for the day. He got out of the shower and checked his phone. 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 10:11: The smell of pine is also evil. I’m glad you don’t smell like pine.  _

 

_ Clint Barton 10:13: I fucking love your boyfriend. Bring him to the Christmas party so we can hang out more! _

 

Steve stood in his room, dripping water on the floor and blushing deeply. He felt something tiny, warm, and rough against his shin. “Hey girl! You made it upstairs by yourself!” he bent down and scratched Ebenezer’s head as she continued to lick water off his leg. She paused long enough to give him a low growl, letting him know that yes, she did get up the stairs on her own and no, she is not happy about having been abandoned first floor to begin with. “I know, I know. Sorry,” Steve apologized. He needed to get dressed, but decided to hold still a little longer in an attempt to make amends with the kitten. He waited until she had was satisfied that Steve was now truly clean. She flopped down on her side and got to work cleaning her own leg. 

He read through Bucky’s texts again and decided that maybe Sam was right. (No, he was not about to give Barton any credit.) Maybe he should ask Bucky to the party. He was a nice guy. Worst case scenario, he’d let him down easy. Despite how quickly Steve had adapted to new technology, asking someone on a date was not something he felt should be done via text. Instead, he got himself dressed, bundled up, and headed out the door. 

Halfway to the tree lot, Steve came up with a backup plan. He was beginning to worry he was making a mistake, so he made a detour to a nearby Starbucks. With the night Bucky had had thanks to Steve’s friend, bringing him a coffee to help him through the rest of his day was the least Steve could do. The bonus being, if Bucky seem unreceptive to Steve’s being there, Steve could leave immediately after the coffee handoff. Bucky would be none the wiser about his ulterior motive. 

At the lot, Bucky was nowhere to be found. One of the attendants recognized Steve from his previous visits and told him Bucky was in the trailer and to go on in. Steve gave a little knock before he opened the door. He found Bucky seated at the messy desk, with his head on his crossed arms, resting on a stack of papers, snoring softly. Steve’s heart turned into an unrecognizable ball of mush. As ready as he was to (maybe, possibly) ask Bucky to the party, there was no way on earth he was going to disturb him. Instead, he left the coffee on the desk with a quick note, and draped one of the extra coats by the door over Bucky’s shoulders. He tip toed out of the trailer, shutting the door as quietly as possible. 

Despite his failure on the date front, Steve couldn’t stop smiling on his walk home. Part of him felt responsible for Bucky’s current state; mostly he wanted to call someone and gush about how adorable Bucky is when he’s asleep. Good sense prevailed, and he refrained from any phone calls. 

It was a few hours before Steve heard from Bucky. 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 16:37: Your coffee saved my life. Wish you’d woken me up so I could have thanked you in person, though.  _

 

Steve wrote back letting him know he owed him one for inadvertently introducing him to Clint. When he didn’t hear back immediately, he began to panic. The pile of undecorated cookies proved a welcome distraction. After gathering supplies, he set himself up at the table and began meticulously painting each cookie, singing along to Christmas songs on the radio. He lost track of time when his phone beeped.

 

_ Bucky Barnes 18:12: Sorry! Getting slammed here. How’s your day?  _

**Guess it’s prime tree buying time, huh? I’m painting the cookies from yesterday finally.**

_ Bucky Barnes 18:17: Yeah, now until Christmas Eve it will be fucking nuts. Rather be helping you with the cookies. Sorry we never finished them.  _

**Clint is nothing, if not distracting. It’s ok. I’ve got it covered.**

Steve took a picture of the finished cookies and attached it to his text. 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 18:25: Jesus, nevermind. I would be absolutely no help to you. At all. Those are unreal! _

**I may have gotten a little carried away. Would rather have had company. ;)**

His own forwardness was making Steve nervous. He busied himself with the next cookie, worried that he’d overstepped and would never hear from Bucky again. 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 18:31: Don’t tempt me. I still have an hour and a half here. If it weren’t for the fact that all I’d do is fall asleep on your couch and stink up your house, I’d ditch this place in a heartbeat.  _

_ Bucky Barnes 18:33: Probably admitting I never got a chance to shower wasn’t my sexiest move. Ignore that.  _

 

Steve had to take a few deep, cleansing breaths to stop himself from replying, “I don’t care! Come over. Use my shower. Sleep in my bed!” He collected himself enough to respond that Bucky should definitely not shirk his responsibilities to hang out with him, and that he needs to get some sleep tonight since it’s tree buying crunch time. 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 18:57: Did you just lecture me? Did you type that in your Cap voice?  _

_ Bucky Barnes 18:58: Don’t answer. I’m going to imagine you used your Cap voice either way.  _

_ Bucky Barnes 18:58: Ugh. I gotta power through this last hour. ttyl  _

**Get to work, Barnes. (Definitely Cap voice.)**

**Good luck, Buck. Get some sleep tonight. (Normal me voice)**

_ Bucky Barnes 22:49: Good night, Stevie. x _

 

The next few days were busy ones. Steve had several hospital visits lined up, and had promised two neighbors he’d make an appearance at a neighborhood caroling party. Once he got down to the lot to meet Bucky for a very quick lunch break. Despite the hectic schedule, he was enjoying himself. It was all very festive. The weather had stayed cold, there were off and on flurries. He even managed to get the wreath completed and received several compliments on it from passers by. Down time was spent texting Bucky, who was being run absolutely ragged at work. 

Thursday came, and Steve still hadn’t invited Bucky to the party. He realized he wasn’t terribly disappointed, though. They were texting regularly, and he figured Bucky would be too worn out after work for a party the Saturday before Christmas. He’d ask him out after the madness of the holidays. Visions of a midnight New Year’s kiss began to intrude his thoughts with regularity. 

The rest of The Avengers were getting increasingly excited for the upcoming festivities at the Tower. Most people would not guess it, but it turns out superheroes getting ready for parties are extremely clothes conscious. Steve was dismayed and entertained by the group texts flying back and forth about what everyone was wearing. For his part, Steve had a nice burgundy button down shirt picked out to wear with a pair of grey dress pants. He couldn’t muster the same level of enthusiasm everyone else had over outfit picking. What he was looking forward to was the look on his teammates faces when he walked in sporting a complete set of beard ornaments. Amazon was quickly turning into his favorite thing about the future, and the fact that you could get something that absurd delivered to your home in two days amazed him. 

  
He added a pair of light up antlers to his cart and checked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Steve has his phone set in military time.


	12. What a Fine Time to Rock the Night Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas party time! Thor brought his hooch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this, then the post-Christmas epilogue. 
> 
> Happy Christmas Eve Eve to everyone in the same hemisphere as me! 
> 
> Happy Christmas Eve to everyone else! 
> 
> You guys have been amazing during this process and made it all so much fun. xxx

The beard ornaments arrived Saturday afternoon, to Steve’s absolute delight. It took a tremendous amount of super soldier willpower to not tell anyone what he had ordered. His willpower did not extend to refraining from sending obnoxious text messages to Sam, however. 

 

**I know you think you’re the fashionista in the group, but I am going to look pretty fucking dapper at the party tonight.**

_ Sam Wilson 14:29: That must be a hell of an outfit you got lined up if you’re dropping f-bombs via text.  _

**Just try not to be too jealous.**

_ Sam Wilson 14:34: I make no promises.  _

 

Steve found himself getting antsy. He had a few hours to kill before he had to get dressed and Ebenezer was napping. It was the Saturday before Christmas, so the best he was getting from Bucky was the occasional text along the lines of “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah” with a series of increasingly violent emojis. He thought about bringing him a coffee, but it didn’t sound like Bucky would have time to drink anyway. He cleared his throat loudly a few times and looked over at the sleeping kitten. Nothing. “Fine,” he sighed, “If you’re going to be boring, I’m going for a run.” 

Foregoing his normal route through the park, Steve decided to stick to the neighborhood. His run was more of a jog as he stopped to chat with neighbors and slowed more than he cared to admit going past the tree lot. The best he got was a glimpse of Bucky’s ponytail as he moved between rows of trees. He told himself he wasn’t disappointed and that the second loop around that particular block was pure coincidence. After his second run-by with no Bucky sighting, Steve made his way back home to shower. 

As he was getting dressed, Steve looked in the mirror and decided to go full suit for the party. The dress pants and shirt looked nice, but the beard ornaments would be higher impact if he was really dressed up. He kept the burgundy shirt, but went with a full grey suit and skipped the tie. It was time for the beard ornaments. He dumped them on his bathroom counter and got to work. Ebenezer sat on the back of the toilet and watched, fascinated. Beard decorating was more complicated than Steve had anticipated. The clips were small and awkward, and the cat kept swatting the ornaments off the counter and onto the floor. After an extended session of swearing at both his oversized hands and obnoxious kitten, Steve stepped back and admired his work. He immediately burst into laughter. “Oh, Ebenezer, this is going to be great. Wish you could come.” 

Ebenezer looked at him and meowed at length. Steve took it to mean that Christmas parties filled with superheros aren’t really her sort of thing. “Your loss,” he shrugged. 

The car Tony had arranged to pick Steve pulled up to his house as the clock turned over to seven. Steve suspected the driver had been parked down the block for a while to ensure he’d be exactly on time. He grabbed the antlers he had also ordered, pleased to find he could tuck them in an inside pocket of his jacket. He climbed in the car and settled into the seat, smirking at the double take the driver did when he noticed his beard. After a few minutes of admiring Christmas lights, Steve pulled out his phone. 

 

**Hey Buck. Know you’re busy, and probably exhausted. Just wanted to say I hope you have a good evening and get some rest. You only have a few more days to go!**

 

Steve walked into Avengers’ Tower and was immediately greeted by JARVIS, “Good evening, Captain Rogers. You are looking particularly festive this evening.” 

“Merry Christmas, JARVIS. Is the rest of the team together yet?” 

“Indeed, Thor and Dr. Foster just arrived. You are the last of the Avengers to assemble.” 

“Hilarious. I know you’re an AI, but are you sure you haven’t been hitting the eggnog?” 

In the elevator, JARVIS assured Steve that he had no ability to consume any eggnog, spiked or not, and wished him a pleasant time. When the door opened, JARVIS announced his arrival. 

“Cap!” he heard Tony cry across the room. The Avengers and the rest of the guests turned towards the elevator and froze. “What the HELL is on your face, Gramps?” 

Steve gave his best surprised face and said, “No idea what you’re talking about, Stark,” and greeted the rest of the room. 

Sam was immediately by his side, “You and I have very different idea of what’s dapper, Cap.” 

Running a hand down his chest, Steve said, “I’m telling Pepper you don’t like this suit. She helped pick it out.” Sam shook his head. Steve’s stubbornness was the stuff of legends, he was going to be hard to crack if he put his mind to being intentionally oblivious to everyone’s reactions to his decorated beard. “Is that how it is?” he asked. 

Steve gave him a sly smile, “Yeah, that’s how it is.”  

Natasha joined the men, took a look at Steve’s face and said, “Beard’s coming in nice, Rogers.” Her mouth twitched ever so slightly as Sam gaped at her, amazed that was all she had to say on the matter. She immediately turned on her heels and disappeared back into the crowd. 

“See? Romanov likes my beard. You just have lousy taste, Sam. Let’s go get a drink,” Steve laughed as he took his friend by the arm and lead him to the bar. They had barely gotten their beers when Natasha found them again with Bruce in tow. 

Steve greeted him with a hug and a Merry Christmas. Bruce said his hellos and did his best to not stare blatantly at Steve’s beard. “It seems we’re not acknowledging it, Doc,” Sam explained. 

“Oh. Okay. Um. How’s leave, Steve?” Bruce asked. 

Natasha beat Steve to answering and proceeded to fill Bruce in on Steve’s romantic failings with Bucky. Steve knew that everyone in the Tower had probably heard some version of it at that point so rather than trying to deny anything, he bragged about the recent regular texting development. Sam thought it was progress, Bruce looked bemused, Natasha was unimpressed. They had a robust debate about Steve’s post holiday options for making a move when Tony came swanning over. He put the tumbler he was carrying down on the bar with a thunk and said, “Are we really going to ignore Cap’s Star Spangled Beard?!” 

Bruce bit back a smile and said, “I can honestly say I see nothing star-like about Steve’s beard.” Steve grinned at him in return. Tony looked to Sam and Natasha for help, but they were too busy laughing and high fiving Bruce to back him up. Tony threw his hands in the air and loudly demanded a drink. 

“What the holy fuck is going on with your beard?!” Clint practically screamed as he barreled towards the group. “Are those ornaments? They sell beard ornaments? How did you even find out about those?! How can you people even look at him straight?!” he was working himself up to hysterics. 

“Thank you!” Tony exclaimed. “Someone has some sense around here!”

“The fact that you find a voice of reason in Barton is pretty desperate, Stark,” Natasha pointed out. 

Clint swiveled on her, “I honestly can’t deal with this. C’mon Nat, I think I saw some mistletoe over in the corner and need a distraction.” The group waited for Natasha to eviscerate Clint verbally at the very least and were shocked when she just shrugged and followed him. 

Steve snapped out of it first, “She didn’t kill him. Is this an actual thing now?” 

“Not in any official capacity. Generally we all act like we don’t know about it,” Bruce explained, “Mainly because we’re afraid she’ll kill us if we say anything.”

“Unlike you, Capsicle,” Tony cut in, “You’d never kill us for pointing out you have a) grown a beard and b) decided to cover it in balls!” Sam did his best to not snicker and failed. Steve continued to act like he had no idea whatsoever what Tony was talking about. Playing dumb was not his original intent for the party, but Tony’s increasing frustration was making it seem like the best idea Steve had ever had. He getting ready to commit to the act for the entire evening when Jane Foster came up to him. 

“Oh no. No. Steve. No. Do not let Thor see your bead. He’s looking for you because he brought that crazy Asgardian liquor. It’s bad enough I’m going to have to deal with a drunken god later, I’m not going to be able to handle it at all if he’s also pouting because he doesn’t have beard decorations, too,” she pleaded. 

Steve grinned. Thor was the only person on the planet who could get him remotely drunk anymore, and it was a party after all. “Jane, I promise you he will not be pouting about that.” 

“I swear to god, Rogers, if you say it’s because you don’t have Christmas ornaments all over your big dumb face, I will throw you out of my party,” Tony interrupted. 

“As I was saying,” Steve continued, ignoring his friend, “He won’t be jealous because of course I’ll share with him!” He turned as a voice boomed behind him. 

“STEVEN! My brother in arms!” They shared a hug that would have decimated the ribcages of anyone else at the party. “You’ve grown a beard that would make your forefathers proud, I see! And decorated it admirably! Jane! Did you know such ornaments existed or Migard?” 

“Honestly, I never gave it any thought,” Jane sighed. 

“Come, Captain, share a drink with me and tell me where you found such splendid baubles.” Thor and Steve left their friends to find some furniture that they were least likely to accidentally destroy as they got increasingly inebriated. 

Tony stared after them, “Is Cap going to get drunk? Are we sure he wasn’t drunk before he came? I’m not sure time off suits him.” 

Sam laughed and clapped Tony on the shoulder, “I think it suits him just fine. Even Captain America is allowed to let his hair down once in awhile.”

“Down is one thing, growing majestically from his face is another. Why does no one else think it’s weird that Steve grew a beard?” Tony whined. 

“I think it looks good,” Bruce offered. “I’m not sure about the Christmas balls, but the beard looks nice.”

“You’re banned from the workshop, traitor,” Tony shot back. 

“Sure, Tony, anything you say,” Bruce chuckled. 

The evening continued, the booze flowed freely, and both the music and the guests grew louder. Steve and Thor were doing their best to contribute to the cacophony. A small crowd had gathered around them as they swapped increasingly inappropriate stories of how warriors spend their time between battles. Steve was fastening a shiny green ornament to Thor’s beard while he told him about some of his more duplicitous poker victories. 

“I’m not even kidding, I had a dream about this,” Darcy whispered to the other women who were watching the goings on. 

“Darcy!” Jane squeaked. “You did not have a dream about Steve bedazzling my boyfriend.”

Maria and Pepper were openly gawking. “I think Tony may be jealous of Steve’s beard,” Pepper mused. 

“Steve needs to shave, immediately,” Maria added. “I’m having thoughts about him and that beard that are making me sweat.” She fanned herself in emphasis, “Look! I’m actually sweating! It’s Steve! This is so wrong.” 

Darcy disagreed entirely, “Steve Rogers is Grade A all-American stud, Maria. Nothing to be ashamed about just ‘cause you wouldn’t mind a piece of apple pie.” She winked lewdly at her friend. Jane and Pepper laughed and grabbed another round of champagne from a passing server. 

Tony wandered over to see what had captured the ladies’ attention. “Are you seriously standing around watching those two get wasted and groom each other? I expected more of you, Pep.” 

“Oh, Tony. Some moments come by once in a lifetime and should not be missed. This is one of those moments,” she patted him on the cheek fondly. 

Steve stood up and bobbled. Thor stuck out an arm and steadied him, “Remember, my friend, this is the drink of the god’s and you are still mortal.” Steve waved him off, and unclipped another beard ornament. He weaved his way over to Tony, throwing an arm around the shorter man’s shoulders. 

“Stark, would you like to be part of our club?” Tony eyed him wearily. “I mean,” Steve slurred slightly, “I’d stay away from Thor’s hooch, but here!” he clipped an ornament to the very bottom of Tony’s goatee. Tony stared at him in complete disbelief. Steve continued, “You know, you’re a good friend. And you throw a hellauva party. We should sing Christmas songs. Ya got any Christmas songs.”

Tony was just left of sober himself, but not so much that he didn’t see a golden opportunity laid out before him. “Sure thing, Cap,” he grinned. “J cue up some Christmas karaoke tracks and make sure you’re recording this.” Steve beamed at him and gave him a friendly pat on the chest. “I’m going to get us some mics and clear a spot,” Tony said conspiratorially. 

Steve turned to his friends and tried to rally other singers. Thor was quick to agree, though doubtful he would know any of the Migardian holiday songs. Maria, and Pepper vanished in a flash. Darcy said she would absolutely sing, but only if Steve did a duet of “Baby it’s Cold Outside” with her. Steve thought that was a terrific idea. 

A combination of infinite resources and cutting edge technology resulted in floor space being cleared around a see-through screen to display lyrics and, of course, a handful of microphones. It didn’t take long for the guests to figure out what was about to happen. People began to pick songs, someone grabbed a StarkPad and began making a signup list. What Tony thought was going to a simple matter of embarrassing his friend was turning into the hit of the party. Steve had taken a stance next to the signup list, doing his best to talk people into sticking to Christmas songs. The average party goer was unlikely to be immune to Steve Rogers when he turned the full force of his smile on them. This was not an average party. The attendants had to contend with an Asgardian liquor fueled Steve Rogers who thought he was very charming, indeed. No one stood a chance, and soon everyone was signed up to sing a seasonal favorite. 

The only thing that was shocking to anyone about how things were playing out was that it was Natasha first to grab the mic. She sang a version of “Santa Baby” that was so slinky Eartha Kitt herself would have blushed. Clint almost burst a blood vessel cheering when it was over. A few of Stark Industries finest men were up next with a particularly obnoxious version of “Rudolph”. Darcy and Steve came on shortly after and surprised the crowd with just how not bad they were. It turns out that under the influence, Steve was more than a match for Darcy’s over the top flirtations. Tony gave in to the turn of events and sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” a la Frank Sinatra. There were more than a few misty eyes in the room. 

Fearing that his lapse into sentimentality had spoiled the mood, Tony changed gears, “Let’s bring The Star Spangled Man with the Plan...and Beard...back up here!” Everyone cheered as if they were at a rock concert. Having abandoned any sense of shame a few hours prior, Steve took another long pull from Thor’s flask and swaggered to the improvised stage area. 

“Alright, alright,” Steve grinned to his adoring audience. “I’m still catching up on about 70 years of Christmas tunes, but this one’s already a favorite.” He swayed where he stood, shucked off his jacket, and tossed it over to Maria, who did her best not to swoon. Pepper giggled at her.

“We are never talking about this after tonight,” Maria whispered furiously. 

“Okay, JAR...wait!” Steve stopped and walked over to Maria. He dug something out of his jacket pocket and told Maria to cover him. She held the jacket up so Steve could duck behind it. When he emerged he was wearing a pair of red and green light up antlers. Dozens of phones snapped pictures as everyone cheered him on. He moved back to center stage. “Now we’re ready! Okay JARVIS!” 

The opening of “Jingle Bell Rock” played. Tony hit record on his phone and told Happy, “This may be the greatest night of my life.” 

Steve’s performance the stuff of legends. The serum had not improved his dancing at all, but the alcohol had obliterated his inhibitions. The crowd was no more sober than Steve and egged on every poorly timed shimy. Even Natasha was jumping up and down cheering. Steve twirled anyone he could reach, received several kisses in return, and most impressively stayed largely in tune. Everyone was dancing and singing along by the last chorus. Steve hit the final “that’s the Jingle Bell Rock” with what would later be regarded as one of the more epic knee slides in history. 

It was not the distance he slid, or his perfect form that made Steve’s finale memorable. What made it one for the ages was the moment he came to a stop and looked up at the person he had almost bowled over. He blinked hard a few times to clear his vision. When the blinking didn’t help, he shook his head and looked up again. Nothing had changed. 

Steve sank back on his haunches and whimpered, “Bucky?”

Tony Stark could be heard laughing so hard he started coughing, “Best. Night. Ever.”

  
Bucky looked down at Steve and took his time appreciating the ornaments that were left in his beard, his flushed cheeks, and the blinking antlers on top of his mussed hair. A slow crooked smile spread over his face. “Hiya, Stevie. Good party?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should feel bad for the things I've done to Steve. 
> 
> (I don't.)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is dramatic and Bucky thinks it's adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So remember that time I had written the ending of my Christmas fic and thought I had posted it? Because I do. Oh, real life, you do get in the way sometimes. There will be one more chapter that I want to tweak before I post it this week. Sorry about the RIDICULOUS delay. You are all fabulous. xxx

“Need a hand getting up there, pal?” Bucky offered to Steve, who seemed to be having a hard time processing what happened. 

Steve took a few more seconds to silently wish he was having a bad dream before slowly getting to his feet, “Uh, I got it. Thanks.” He faced Bucky, “I gotta go talk to Stark,” and weaved through the crowd that had closed back in on the now abandoned stage area. 

Sam and Natasha were among the few still watching what was going on. When they saw Steve storm off towards Tony, they moved quickly to intercept. Natasha signed over to Clint that he should go keep Bucky company. Clint signed back that he’d be happy to, since Bucky was his new best friend. Natasha replied with a single finger. Everyone got to Tony at the same time. 

Grabbing Tony’s arm and spinning him to face him, Steve spat, “What the hell did you do, Stark?!” 

Natasha and Sam tensed, but gave Tony a chance to answer himself. “I was actually trying to be nice!” 

“How, by humiliating me?” Steve was doing his best to control his voice. 

“Did I know you were going to get yourself wasted on the moonshine of the gods?” Tony asked. “Plus, I gotta say, you’re kinda fun drunk.”

Steve’s grip on Tony’s arm tightened, but he swiveled his head to glare accusingly at Sam and Natasha. 

“Honestly, Steve, we thought it would be a nice surprise. No one was even sure he’d be able to make it until he showed up,” Natasha answered the question Steve hadn’t yet asked. 

Sam spoke up next, “You did want him here, man. We thought we’d help the process along.” Steve stared at him as hard he could with unfocused eyes. “Don’t give me that look. You made lame ass excuses to not invite him, and you know it.” 

“Plus,” Tony interjected, “You’re forgetting I know Bucky. I like Bucky. Well, certainly not like you like Bucky, but I would have invited him anyway. Some of my finest work is connected to that man!” 

Steve let go of Tony’s arm and swayed. “You are all horrible. You’re traitors to you country…”

“Oh ho! Don’t even try that, Cap,” Sam laughed, “It’s a lot less scary when you’re slurring your words.” Steve turned the full weight of his best Captain America stare on his friend. The impact lessened when he had to blink hard to get both the Sams in his vision to merge back to one. 

“I need to get out of here,” Steve moaned, shoulders slumping. 

Steve felt a presence at his back before he heard a gentle voice say, “You can’t leave now, I just got here.” Bucky smiled warmly as Steve turned around. Steve spun too quickly and wobbled, Bucky was quick to put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “How about we get me a drink, you some water, and find a spot where we can sit and talk.” 

“Are we gonna talk about holes I can crawl into? That’d be nice.” 

Bucky steered him to the bar, “Nah, I’d miss your stupid face if you moved into a hole.” Steve was suddenly glad he had the alcohol as an excuse for the shade of red his face had turned. 

“Hey you, two!” Tony called. The men paused, turning to hear what Tony had to say. “There’s mistletoe right over there,” he gestured grandly to the far side of the room, “Just so you know!”

Bucky stifled a giggle. Steve looked at Sam and Natasha, “Would one of you Benedict Arnolds kindly fuck Tony with a cactus?” He was proud at how calm and not drunk he sounded. 

Sam howled with laughter. Natasha looked at shocked as she ever looks. Tony wore his best shit eating grin, “I am loving drunk, Steve. Loving.” 

Clint met Steve and Bucky halfway to the bar. He handed Bucky a beer, and Steve a bottle of water. “You know, for once I think Stark was really just trying to be nice.” Steve took a sip of water and grumbled. 

“To be fair, Stevie, I coulda told you myself,” Bucky said. “Work’s been nuts, and I wasn’t sure I’d be up for a party. But I wanted to see you. Hoped it would be a nice surprise,” he trailed off. 

“It is. I just,” Steve paused, trying to collect his thoughts. “Every time I see you I’ve made a fool of myself!” 

Clint cleared his throat, gave a little wave, and took off to find Natasha. Bucky and Steve need to figure this one out on their own. Bucky watched Clint disappear into the crowd before responding. “You’re talking to the guy who showed up at your house uninvited, drank way too much of your beer, and then failed miserably at throwing himself at you.”

“Wait, what?” Steve sputtered. “Throw yourself at me? I...you didn’t...I mean you were sorta flirty, but lots of people are when they’re drinking. You weren’t...not on purpose? Were you? Hold on…” Bucky took Steve’s arm as he rambled and walked him over to an open loveseat. 

Once Steve had run out of sentence fragments, Bucky laughed, “Wow. I definitely failed miserably if it’s news to you.” Steve was having a hard time finding an appropriate reaction that didn’t involve climbing onto Bucky's lap. Instead he chugged his water. “Plus, I’m the one who looks like a fool tonight,” Bucky continued. “I am obviously underdressed.” He plucked the antlers off Steve’s head and placed them on his own. 

“Oh god,” Steve groaned. “I forgot I had those on.” He buried his head in his hands, glad his face was already hidden when Bucky gave his knee a squeeze. When he finally sat up, there was another bottle of water on the table in front of him. He looked around and saw Tony raise a glass to him and wink. 

Bucky leaned over and whispered, “I’m probably not supposed to tell you this, but Tony dropped that off. I think it was a peace offering.” 

Relieved that Bucky didn’t seem to hate him, Steve allowed the spirit of the season to wash over him and saluted Tony back with the new bottle. He then unscrewed the cap and drank half of it down in one go. “Well, the good news is that thanks to the serum, we’re back down to there only being one of you, Buck.” 

“Is that really good news?” Bucky asked with a smirk. Steve rolled his eyes and bumped his shoulder. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you I was going to be here. But I am not at all sorry I missed your performance.” Steve made a whimpering sound, Bucky chuckled. “I’m serious! That was fantastic. You were having a blast. And you can actually kinda sing. Bet you’d be real good if you practiced for real.” That earned Bucky an icy stare. “Fine don’t believe me. I like your voice though. Your dancing on the other hand…”

“Never learned to dance,” Steve said quietly. 

“Dancing’s great! I’ll teach you if you want!” Bucky exclaimed. 

Steve’s face fell, “Peggy’s supposed to teach me.” He picked at the label on his water bottle. 

“That’s your girl from the war, right?” Bucky asked, the kindness in his voice made Steve smile sadly. Bucky placed his left hand gently back on Steve’s knee before quickly withdrawing it. Without hesitating, Steve grabbed the metal hand in his own. 

“Beautiful, remember?” Bucky looked at him, astonished. Steve gave his hand a squeeze and smiled, “You know, I think Peggy would like me dancing with you. You should meet her. You may think Nat is tough, but you’ve never seen anything like Peg on a good day.” 

There was so much Bucky wanted to say to Steve it was overwhelming. He had so much admiration for the man who had been through so much and still had a sunshine smile and a laugh that made everyone in the vicinity join in his merriment. Steve never looked for sympathy, and Bucky didn’t feel it was his place to offer it, at least not tonight. Instead he gave a crooked smile and said, “Can’t wait to meet her. Now there’s someone who has the real dirt on you. I want all the stories.” 

A look of panic swept across Steve’s face, “Shit. Nevermind. That’s a horrible idea. You two aren’t allowed in the same room together. Not even the same building. In fact, I’m going to need you to move out of the city. It’s too dangerous.” 

“And just how am I supposed to teach you to dance from Yonkers, ya punk?” 

“Skype?” Steve offered helpfully. 

The rest of their conversation flowed more comfortably. They settled back on the sofa, pressed against each other. There were brief moments of hand holding and leg touching, and plenty of interruptions from the rest of The Avengers. At some point, Steve clipped an ornament to Bucky’s bun, which resulted in a declaration from Thor regarding Steve’s generous spirit. 

As the evening wore down, Steve turned serious again, “I really wanted to ask you to the party, Buck. I’m sorry I didn’t. I just chickened out.” Bucky started to tell him it was okay, but Steve cut him off. “So...um...I know you’re probably busy, but do you want to come over Christmas Eve for dinner?” 

Bucky’s face lit up, “Is this another party? Or…”

“No. It’s, well, just you and I. So I guess...a date? But you’ve got plans so that’s fine another time don’t worry about it,” Steve rushed. 

“It would be a pleasure and an honor, Stevie.” Steve looked up at him like he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Bucky leaned in close, his voice dipping low and said, “Just make sure you’ve got some mistletoe of your own.”

Steve gulped and looked around the room frantically. “There’s mistletoe over there!” he pointed out. Another time he would have been worried about seeming too eager. At this point, he had given up trying to maintain any false dignity around Bucky. 

Bucky laughed and slipped an arm around Steve’s waist. “How you feeling now that you’ve gotten about a gallon of water in you?” 

Steve had a feeling he knew where Bucky was going, so he answered him honestly. “I’ve downgraded from completely pie eyed to merely significantly buzzed.” He nodded firmly to punctuate his assessment. 

“Since you were such a gentleman when I was less than sober, I am going to return the favor. Mistletoe can wait until blood alcohol levels normalize.” 

“You’re a jerk. And mean. You’re a mean jerk,” Steve groused. Bucky kissed him on the side of the head while he pouted. 

“I wish I didn’t have to work so much this week, Christmas Eve can’t come fast enough,” Bucky lamented. 

“Mean jerk who works all the time,” Steve griped. His anger losing its impact when he burrowed into Bucky’s shoulder. 

They got away with cuddling on the couch and talking for another hour before it became clear the party was truly breaking up. Everyone said their goodbyes. Steve thanked Tony with more sincerity than Tony was able to handle that far into the scotch. He swallowed hard and gave Steve a hug.    
Bucky and Steve shared a car home. They held hands across the seat and watched Christmas lights go by out the windows. Every few minutes, they would look over at each other, or down at their clasped hands and smile. Bucky walked Steve to his door and they shared an awkward moment of being unsure of how to end their evening. Steve broke first, thanking Bucky for generally being himself and wishing him a goodnight. He moved quickly to kiss Bucky on the cheek and duck into the house. 

Steve fed Ebenezer and told him all about his night. He solicited her help planning Christmas Eve dinner, she told him off for staying out so late. As he settled into bed, he checked his phone one last time. He had two text messages. One was from Natasha, sent to both he and Bucky. It was a picture of them on the couch together. Steve had a few beard ornaments left, and was grinning the grin of an inebriate who was positively thrilled with his present situation. Bucky was mugging for the camera, wide eyed and open mouthed, antlers slightly askew. Natasha’s caption read, “ _You two are disgustingly adorable_.” 

The second read: 

 

_ Bucky Barnes 02:37: yeah we are _

 

Steve fell asleep with the picture up on the screen before he could reply. 

The following morning was not one of the better ones in Steve’s life. He had been more hungover before the war, but this was the first time in over 70 years he’d had to deal with any next day ramifications. It was not something he missed about his old life. The first part of the day was wasted drinking water and coffee, and alternately on the phone or texting everyone for the post-party debriefing. Bucky had sent a few messages hoping Steve was okay and letting him know he’d probably be too busy to respond until later that night. By the afternoon, Steve was feeling himself again. The second part of the day was spent consuming an impressive amount of food, playing with Ebenezer, watching Christmas movies, and napping with the kitten.  

The days between the party and Christmas Eve flew by. Bucky worked until late each night. It was becoming a habit that they’d fall asleep texting each other. Steve ran around doing the last minute Christmas errands everyone seems to have no matter how well organized they are. He spent a lot time fretting over what to serve Bucky for their dinner before agreeing with Ebenezer that lasagna was a safe bet. 

The day before Christmas Eve, Steve visited Peggy. It was a relief to see her having a good day. He told her all about Bucky. She laughed and teased that he was being overly dramatic worrying about embarrassing himself. Despite their kidding around, it was a sad conversation to have. Peggy assured Steve she was happy for him and told him she was proud of him for living his life. Steve kissed her on the forehead and promised he’d see her on Christmas. She called to him as he walked through the door. 

“Steve?” Peggy called. He turned around and waited for her to continue, glad to see she still had the clear, sharp look in her eyes. “I don’t care what anyone says. I think the beard is quite dashing.” Steve laughed and thanked her. “Now go get your Bucky. And if you don’t have him here to meet me by New Year’s, I’m coming after you.” 

“You bet, Peg,” Steve laughed. He walked out of the room feeling grateful. It had been a good visit. 

The day of Christmas Eve, Steve’s nervous energy was wearing off on Ebenezer. The kitten was zipping around the house, crashing into things. It was alternately cracking Steve up and make him want to drop her off at the pound. “One of us needs to be calm today, and it’s not going to be me!” he explained. The kitten attempted to scale a wall to let him know it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her. 

The tree lot closed early, so Steve had told Bucky to come over a five. He figured he’d have the lasagna together and would throw it in the oven when Bucky arrived. So far he was on track for the day. Things got derailed when he got out of the shower. Somehow the jeans and sweater he’d picked out didn’t seem to fit him right all of the sudden. He stripped them off and threw them on the bed. Half an hour was lost to changing outfits. Ebenezer helped, expressing her opinion by shedding on various items that had been tossed aside, eliminating them as an option. Eventually he settled on a pair of dark jeans he still couldn’t believe he’d let Darcy talk him into, and a blue button down shirt. It wasn’t very Christmassy, but even Steve had to admit the color brought out his eyes nicely. 

Back downstairs Steve ran around turning on twinkle lights and music. He mixed up a salad, plated some cookies, quadruple checked the table he had set, and paced. He had the longest ten minutes of his life ahead of him. Bucky spared him some of his misery by showing up five minutes early. They greeted each other with shy hugs. Bucky took off his coat to hand it to Steve. Steve froze on the spot, staring. 

Bucky shifted nervously and looked down at himself. “Oh. This was an accident. I didn’t mean to do this. It’s not a crack or anything!” His outburst brought Steve back to reality. 

“What are you talking about, Buck?” 

“Wearing red, white, and blue. It wasn’t a Captain America dig. It’s just, I haven’t had much time to do laundry recently. These were the only pants that weren’t jeans I had left...and I thought the sweater was Christmassy.” He chewed on his lip and pulled at the hem of his sweater. 

Steve looked Bucky up and down. He had on navy pants with a cheery red cardigan. Underneath he was wearing a simple white t-shirt. His hair was down, but tucked behind his ears. Steve began to crack up. “I’m not sure I ever would have picked up on that, Buck. I was actually just thinking how good you look.” 

“Oh. OH!” Bucky blushed. “Well in that case, Merry Christmas, Stevie!” He pecked Steve on the forehead and brushed past him, heading towards the kitchen. “So what’s for dinner? Need any help?” By the time Steve joined him, Bucky was opening the bottle of wine that had been left ready on the counter, Ebenezer perched on his shoulder watching the proceedings. Steve leaned against the doorjamb and observed. Watching Bucky make himself at home in his kitchen was filling Steve with a sense of warmth. When Bucky turned to hand him a glass, Steve had to laugh. “What?” Bucky asked. 

“I think I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie that went something like this.”

“Whoo boy, you need to get back to work, Steve. That is entirely too much free time.” 

Steve clinked his glass against Bucky’s, “You’re not wrong.” 

“So how’d the movie end?” 

“There was either a giant snowstorm that brought everyone together to learn to appreciate each other. Or there was a plucky orphan that made them realize the importance of love. Could have been a puppy, though,” Steve explained. 

Ebenezer nuzzled Bucky’s neck, prompting him to ask, “Could it have been a kitten?” Ebenezer chose to that moment to start chewing on his hair. “Okay, maybe not.” Steve plucked the cat off Bucky’s shoulder, and moved into the room. 

“I made a lasagna and a salad. Nothing fancy.” Steve popped the pan into the oven. They chatted amicably in the kitchen as dinner cooked, until Steve pointed out they could in fact sit down. As they moved into the living room with their drinks, a slow song started on the radio. Bucky took Steve’s wine glass and sat it on the table with his own. He reached out his hand. 

  
“Come on, punk. Time to learn to dance.” 


End file.
